Paradigm Shift
by Squit Ayumin
Summary: Two best mates: Tai, a bachelor who's afraid of commitment and Matt, a monogamist who has just been dumped. Their roles are switched as Tai falls hard for a girl and must learn what it means to be in a relationship, while Matt must cope with being single for the first time in thirteen years.
1. Chapter 1: Frog in Well

This fanfic has an AU setting, but the spark of inspiration came from the Digimon Adventure epilogue. First, the implication that Matt had been in one relationship his entire life, and second, Tai's son looked quite young in comparison to the other children.

I wasn't sure whether I should categorise this as Tai/Matt or a Taiora, but I ultimately chose the latter because I didn't want people to think this was a Taito. A large majority, if not all, of the story will be shown from Tai and Matt's POV, but there will be no romantic interaction between them.

Rated T for swearing and innuendo. May go up to M because there is quite a bit of swearing.

**Paradigm Shift  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 1: Frog in Well****  
**

His friends thought he lacked humility, but the way he saw it, he simply saw no need for modesty. Modesty was fake, a lie made to prevent judgment from others for ones accomplishments. He didn't see the need to undermine achievements, as they were things that rarely came without effort. Effort and achievements—they were things to be admired, not withheld.

At 27, he was at that ideal age where he could balance on the fine line between young adult and adult. He was old enough to be taken seriously, yet young enough to where his physicality was at its prime. He had exceeded expectations at his firm, earning a coveted corner office that differentiated him from others in his age group still confined to a cubicle. He had been fortunate with good genes and a charming personality, two things that got him far both in his personal life and, less publicly known, his career. He was a born leader, an ambitious worker, an engaging speaker, a passionate lover.

He prided himself in all of these, but if there was one thing Tai Kamiya was proud of, it was his seemingly trivial ability to wake up in the mornings. Fifteen years of soccer practice, and it had become habitual for him. Weekends, holidays, jetlag be damned. No matter the circumstance, a little sunshine was all it took to wake him up. He used to think it was aggravating as he was not, ironically enough, a morning person, but he soon came to realise the hidden blessing that it was.

He groaned lightly as he stirred from his sleep, almost immediately hit with a splitting headache that indicated heavy drinking the night before. Yet another reminder that he was no longer the uni student who could drink his weight in a dangerous cocktail of every form of alcohol available and still be good to go for his morning class.

He pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples as he slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the first of the sun's rays. It took his groggy mind a second to register that the room he was in was not his own and a second more to notice that he was not alone in the bed. Memories from the night before trickled back to him. A club, a girl, drinking, dancing, more drinking, a cab ride to her place.

With that revelation, he lithely slipped out of bed, careful not to wake the woman he could not for the life of him put a face on. It didn't matter to him what she looked like, however, as he had no intention of seeing her again.

Out of bed and now wide-awake, he ignored his headache as he confusedly scanned the room for his clothes.

Something was wrong.

Aside from a couple pieces of undergarments scattered by the bed, the floor was virtually spotless. He picked up his boxers and put them on, though he was at a loss as to where the remainder of his clothes were.

What was he supposed to do now? Walk of shame back to his flat in his underwear?

The girl in bed began to shift in her sleep, and he instinctively held his breath, as if that would be of any help. Fortunately, she did not wake, and he quietly made his way to the door, praying that his clothes were on the other side.

Luckily, he was greeted by his sock, though the other was nowhere in sight. He yanked it on and walked further down the corridor in search of the rest of his clothing. The two of them had left a trail of their undressing throughout her flat, in an order he couldn't really understand. He found his other sock hanging by the bathroom door, while his trousers were thrown on her dining table. It took him longer to locate his shirt, but he finally managed to find it wedged between her two couches. He threw it over his shoulders, cursing at himself for having had such a complicated way of taking off his clothes. He should have been gone ages ago.

"Tai?"

Her voice cut through the silent room, and he froze as he saw the flat's occupant standing by the hallway, smiling pleasantly at him with a robe around her body.

She remembered his name. That was never a good sign.

"Hey," he greeted with a feigned grin, trying not to appear stunned that she had woken up in the first place. He was a pro at leaving before women woke up. A _pro_.

"Good morning." Her voice was too full of affection and too void of indifference, and while he couldn't remember what he had said to convince her to take him home with her, he was beginning to think it could have been a lie because the truth was that he had been drunk and horny.

He wasn't a bad person though. All guys did that.

"Good morning," he repeated back to her. Despite his slightly panicked state, he set aside a moment to determine that she was very beautiful. He applauded himself for this.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked, walking closer to him.

His reflex made him want to take a step backwards, though he stopped himself. "Yeah. You?"

She nodded, tucking a lock of brunette hair behind her ear and smiling shyly at him. He wasn't sure why she was putting up a timid front. Obviously, between what she had done last night and her ability to face him in the morning, she wasn't that shy.

"Do you want breakfast?" she offered.

Breakfast. He hated breakfast. Breakfast was an attempt to get to know the person with whom you had shared a primal act, a bid to humanise a very animalistic thing. She looked old enough to where she should have known this by now.

He began to button his shirt, trying to think of a way to let her down gently.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go in for work soon," he tried lamely.

She furrowed her brows at his bogus lie. "But today's Sunday. You said you knew a great brunch place we could go to today, remember?"

He looked at her blankly, her question serving as the confirmation that he had indeed put forth a fake persona for her. The only time he had ever gone to brunch was at the request of his little sister a couple years back, and it had not been a concept he was particularly fond of as it consolidated two meals into one.

Her expression changed with his lack of response, and he could see that she too was beginning to catch on to reality—that this was perhaps a one-night stand, that he was quite possibly one of those horrible jerks her father had warned her about, not the perfect, brunch-loving man he had painted himself as the night prior.

Yet, she did not falter, wanting to prove her own suspicions wrong. "Maybe another time then. Will I see you again?"

This is why he liked leaving early. If he left without looking at them, he could leave guilt-free, comforted by the notion that the night before had meant as little to them as it had to him. He was sure for many of them it did, though in theory there had to have been more like her. By not having to face them, he could give himself the benefit of the doubt, his conscience cleared.

She peered over him, waiting for a response.

He had always thought an honest answer was better than no answer, but this time he settled for the latter, focusing on the last few buttons of his shirt instead.

"Will I see you again?" she repeated, knowing very well he had heard her the first time.

He finally looked up once he had gotten the last button, looking into the face of a woman he did not know, a woman who thought she had yesterday gotten a glimpse of who he was, only to be let down once the effects of dizzying music, blurring alcohol and fervent hormones had faded. She didn't know him but had believed in him, and her pleading eyes begged him to prove her right, that his sweet talk had been of substance, not a shameless aide to satisfy his fleeting lust.

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it.

She shut her eyes and took a breath, looking as if she was trying to calm down. He almost couldn't believe that she thought he could have been anything more than a man trying to pick up a woman at a club. She was almost too naïve, though it didn't stop him from feeling remorse. Had he scarred her, or had he opened an old wound?

"Get out," she hissed, her voice dripping with venom, finger pointed at the exit.

He obediently walked to the front door with his head slightly down, wanting nothing more than to leave the awkward encounter. Shoes on his feet and hand on the knob, he heard her call out to him once more in a final bid to make peace with herself.

"Do you even remember my name?"

He stood still for a moment, wanting to remember. He tried to think of a name—_any_ name.

He took too long.

"You're disgusting."

She marched over to him, giving him a firm push out of her flat, slamming the door in his face. The loud noise worsened his headache, but he ignored the pain for the moment, feeling embarrassed, though he wasn't sure why.

This was something he had done countless times with women he could still remember, yet with the simple act of waking up, this nameless girl had, for the first time in as far back as he could remember, made him feel guilty.

* * *

Matt coughed as he lifted his heavy head out of the bin he had brought from the kitchen. He wiped his soiled mouth against his sleeve, holding in his hand his flatmate's prized Scotch that he had been saving for a special occasion. He had tried his hardest not to drink it, knowing the consequences that would follow, but after clearing the rest of their alcohol stash, it had been the only thing left.

So, he took a little more, not even bothering to use a glass as he drank directly from the mouth of the bottle. He immediately threw that up too.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of keys unbolting the door, and, alarmed, he hastily scanned his surroundings, knowing he had to hide the bottle before his flatmate would see it and kill him. His drunkenness only made him knock it over, spilling the liquid to their floor.

"Fuck," he grumbled, picking it up clumsily.

The door opened, and in panic he stuffed it behind a cushion, though his blurry vision could not distinguish whether it was actually hidden or not.

"Hey," came a vaguely glum voice. "You're up earl—" He stopped midsentence to gag. "What the hell?"

"Hey Tai!" Matt greeted, sounding uncharacteristically chirpy.

"What the fuck is that smell?" Tai asked after gagging once more. He stared at him in awe, finger pinching his nose shut. "Is that our kitchen bin? Why are you cuddling with it?"

Matt let go of his death grip of it and tried to stand up, knocking it down with his hip as his hands grabbed the arms of the couch to support him from falling too. He turned his glassy eyes to the toppled bin.

"Oops," he mumbled. "Oh no."

Matt bent down to pick it up but only managed to kick it, scattering rubbish freshly coated with his vomit across the floor. Seeing the nauseating sight made him throw up again, though without anything to catch it, it spewed to the floor.

"What the fuck!" Tai roared, running over to set the bin upright before shoving Matt's shoulder in anger. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!"

Matt immediately lost his balance and fell to the floor. Bewildered, Tai reached down to help him, though Matt swatted his helping hand away.

"Fuck you, asshole," Matt slurred.

"Are you drunk?" he asked incredulously, ignoring Matt's fidgeting as he took a hold of his arms.

"No, do I look drunk?!" he snapped back as Tai struggled to pick him up.

"And you smoked?" Tai continued, looking even more surprised as he came to notice the cigarette butts Matt had scattered around the sitting room. He picked up the empty carton off the table with one hand, using his other arm to support Matt's weight. "Since when did you start smoking again?"

He snatched it from Tai's hand protectively but threw it over his shoulder when he saw it was empty.

"Buy me another one. I need… I need…"

It had been years since he last smoked, so the light buzz from the cigarettes mixed with the alcohol in his empty stomach made him feel queasy. He tried to squirm out of Tai's way, but it only made his friend hold onto him tighter.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked, trying to set him upright.

Without warning, he threw up again, and he felt Tai painfully push him off of him in an effort to protect himself.

"MATT!"

"Did I get you?" he asked as he tried to stand up. He couldn't, so he let himself sit again. "I threw up in the kitchen too. I tried to clean it, but—"

Tai didn't let him finish his sentence as he seized Matt by the collar of his shirt, using his superior strength to drag him through the flat, ignoring his cries that he was choking to death.

"I'm going to fucking kill you when you're sober," Tai growled, kicking open the door to bathroom and throwing him inside. The sudden jerking made him vomit once again on the cupboards. "The toilet, Ishida! Aim for the toilet!"

"I can't!" he yelled back as he fell, frustrated that Tai couldn't understand.

"Try," Tai ordered impatiently. He lifted Matt once more and practically forced his head down the toilet. "_Don't_. _Move_. I'm going to clean up your mess, then I'll be back to kick your ass."

With that, he left, leaving Matt headfirst in the toilet that he could not for the life of him remember when it was last cleaned. Probably never. He tried to force himself to vomit but for once nothing came out.

What was probably a minor annoyance became the worst predicament in the history of his existence. He angrily thrashed his arms about as if that'd change anything, overcome with frustration. His head was stuck in a toilet, he was pissed drunk on a Sunday morning, he ran out of cigarettes and alcohol and on top of that he couldn't vomit. He swore he was going to kill himself.

Tai barged back inside, holding his bottle of Scotch in his hand. "YOU DRANK THIS?! I'M GOING TO—" His anger suddenly subsided, eyes widening as he got a clearer look at him. "Oy, you aren't crying, are you?"

He hadn't realised that he had started again. If he were sober, he would surely care that his friend was seeing him reduced to tears, but his drunkenness made him not give it a second's thought. He wiped his eyes with one hand, flushing the toilet with the other as he tried to stand up. Tai instantly pushed him back down but seemed to sympathise, as he set the half-empty bottle on the counter without further reprimanding him.

"Megumi broke up with me last night," Matt explained finally.

With his head in the toilet, he could not see Tai's reaction, though his lack of verbal response already spoke volumes. For what seemed like the first time since he had known Tai, he was at a loss for anything to say.

The alcohol making him talkative, he continued speaking into the toilet bowl. "She got a job in England. Can you believe that? _England_! What the fuck does England have that Japan doesn't?! I'll tell you what it _doesn't_ have! It doesn't have me!"

Tai remained silent, so Matt used the time to cough up bile.

"I'm sorry, mate," he offered finally, struggling to come up with anything better to say. Matt took his head out of the toilet and saw a glimpse of the sheer shock still present in his friend's face. Tai made a quick and awkward effort to conceal it, though it was obvious he had not expected that to be the cause of Matt's intoxication. "It'll be all right. You'll find someone better."

"No, I won't!" Matt furiously threw his arm at Tai's useless comment, hitting him with the back of his hand. "She was perfect. She was fucking perfect, and now she's going to move to England and find some asshole who drinks tea—" He paused to throw up again. "—and talks in some snooty accent—" He reached for Tai's Scotch, which Tai moved out of his reach. "—with bad teeth. And I'm going to kill myself. I'm going to do it today. Just watch me, Tai. Watch me k—"

Tai slapped his face, which they always did when the other was drunk beyond all reason. "Matt, pull yourself together! You need to calm down!"

He angrily tried to hit him back, though he missed and his arm only struck air. "Calm down?! You want me to calm down?! How can I calm down when I just got _dumped_ by my girlfriend of thirteen years?! I don't want to calm down, you fucking asshat! I want to fucking drink until I fucking die!"

"Believe me, you're close," Tai muttered, turning the shower on. "Look, I know you're upset, and we can talk shit about that bitch later, but you're covered in vomit. I need you to take a shower, but _don't throw up_ in the bathtub, understand?"

He nodded defeatedly, feeling somewhat better after yelling despite Tai unnecessarily speaking to him as if he were just learning how to communicate. "I threw up in the kitchen."

"I know. You already told me. I'll clean it up for you, but only if you try your very hardest not to vomit anywhere else but the toilet, okay? Can you do that?"

"You're such a good friend," Matt slurred, suddenly overcome with gratitude as he pulled on his soiled shirt. "Have I ever told you that you're such a good friend? No wonder—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait until I leave to take your clothes off! Fuck!" With that, Tai left the bathroom, though he opened the door a second later to seize his bottle of Scotch. "I'm still going to kill you for drinking this, by the way. I'm just going to wait until you're sober so you'll remember me beating the crap out of you." He slammed the door again.

"Fuck you," he snapped back.

He clumsily began to unclothe himself, a usually simple act that suddenly became beyond all measurable comprehension. With great difficulty, he managed to pull off his shirt, throwing it aside randomly so that it slipped into the toilet, while his trousers hit the puddle of vomit splayed on the counter. He was too drunk to care, and he was sure Tai would clean it up for him later. It was usually the other way around, so Tai wasn't allowed to complain.

He somehow manoeuvred his heavy body into the bathtub, not even bothering to concern himself with the confusing shower curtain. His flailing arms knocked bottles onto the floor until he was finally able to grab hold of one. He dispensed a generous amount of product onto his hair and body, not certain whether it was his or Tai's, or whether it was shampoo, conditioner or body wash.

He wanted to die.

Just a few days ago, he had been researching flats in the area, planning to ask her to move in together once their leases expired. They had tried to do it several times in the past, but something had always happened and plans would fall through. Now, with nothing to stop them, he had been excited to start the rest of their lives together.

Meanwhile, Megumi was trying to figure out a way to tell him that she would be moving to England without him.

That killed him. They had been dating for nearly half of their lives, yet she found it in her to so independently make the decision to end everything without a single word of input from his side. She had made the decision to go, he was not a part of the plan and that was it.

The last image of her reappeared in his mind, her espresso hair dishevelled and sticking to her tear-stained face, her matching eyes puffy and red, her eyeliner following the trail of her tears. Her entire body was shaking as if she was having a panic attack, agonising sobs coming from the very core of her.

Yet, despite her being an obvious wreck, she had still managed to go through with it. She had ended it, even finding it in her to apologise, as if what she was doing was beyond her control.

No, she was going for a job. She already had a job. A good one.

He felt the crazed desire to strangle her, kill her even. How could she do this to him? If she was going to be so emotionally distraught over dumping him, why did she even do it in the first place? He would have moved to England for her. She could have stayed here for him.

In desperation, he had told her he would move to England if she couldn't stay in Japan, but she denied him. There was nothing for him there, she said. He told her that she would be, and that would be all he needed. It wasn't reason enough for her.

Absurdly enough, that hadn't even been the worst blow. The worst was that she waited until the night before she was leaving to tell him. How long had she known she would be doing this to him? She had given him no clues beforehand, strung him along knowing that she had set an expiration date for them, leaving him oblivious, then confused, then utterly destroyed.

Consumed by anger, he threw the bottle in his hand at the mirror, effectively smashing part of it as shampoo/conditioner/body wash squirted everywhere.

"If you broke something, I swear to God you're dead!"

Tai could go to hell too.

He quickly rinsed his hair and body, rubbing at his stinging eyes until the soapy substance was gone from them. He stepped out of the shower, forgetting to turn off the water, and clumsily wrapped a towel around his waist before going out, letting excess water seep from his hair and body onto the floor.

"Turn the water off, Jesus!" Tai nagged, coming from their sitting room. He walked into the bathroom to turn it off himself, only to see the mess Matt had made. "What the hell did you do to the mirror?!"

"I'm going to bed," Matt grumbled, stumbling through the hall towards his bedroom.

"Look, you're obviously really upset. If you want to talk about it—"

"I don't want to fucking talk about it," Matt snapped, pushing Tai aside. "Get out of my way."

Such behaviour would usually warrant painful retaliation, though Tai showed him leniency this time as he let him storm into his room without a single counter or remark. He slammed his door as hard as he could, suddenly understanding the gratification angsty teenagers got when they did it. He looked around his bedroom, taking in the surroundings as much as he could through his inebriation.

He hated everything.

He started with the picture of the two of them by his bed, seizing it and throwing it at the door, finding satisfaction as the frame broke against the wood of his door. Next, he tore off his bed sheets, a gift from her. Something about Egyptian cotton being more comfortable. There was a basket of her toiletries on his desk. Whatever glass products inside also shattered upon impact with the door. An extra charger for her mobile. He threw that too, even though he could have used it for his own matching phone. He opened his wardrobe, yanking out items as he saw them. Her clothes she had left there, his clothes she had bought him, clothes she liked on him. The invaluable bass guitar she had gotten for him for his birthday one year, already regretting it as he smashed it against the wall.

"You're going to break our flat," Tai said from outside his bedroom, unsuccessfully trying not to sound annoyed.

He ignored him, breathing hard as he looked around for anything else that reminded him of her, seizing items and sending them flying towards the door before it hit him that it was everything. Everything reminded him of her. He had been with her for so long that all things in his life had been influenced by her one way or another, directly or indirectly.

For as long as he could remember, he had been one half of Matt-and-Megumi, but with one sentence she had taken that away from him, ripped half of him off and placed it on an aeroplane destined 10,000 kilometres away. Had she already gone? He had no idea, as she wouldn't even let him say goodbye to her at the airport, refusing to provide any flight details.

Or any details, for that matter. He didn't know what her new job was, when she was starting, where she was staying, how he could still contact her. No, she had come with the singular task to break up with him and had succeeded, erasing a thirteen-year relationship in, despite the sobbing, the emptiest, coldest conversation he had ever had with her.

* * *

井の中の蛙大海を知らず。

"The frog in the well does not know the ocean." (Japanese proverb)


	2. Chapter 2: For the Lady?

Thank you for the lovely reviews!

**Paradigm Shift**  
**Chapter 2: For the Lady?**

Thirteen years, two weeks and two days. That was the exact length of time he and Megumi had been together. Tai thought Megumi was the world's most heinous bitch to dump him just a couple weeks after their anniversary, but Matt didn't care about that. She could have dumped him on the day of or his birthday for all that mattered. He just wanted to know why. He grew obsessed with it, analysing every detail of their relationship, searching for the reason she would leave him. It couldn't have just been for a job. It just couldn't. Couples who dated for a few months would do that, but not couples like them. Not couples who dated for thirteen years, two weeks and two days.

He didn't get it. They bickered often but rarely fought. They had fought a lot when they were teenagers, but once they hit their twenties, they averaged maybe one or two massive arguments per year. It wasn't that bad. They differed on trivial things but agreed on fundamental values, providing a sturdy foundation for their relationship. The only major difference they had ever had was marriage. She wanted it; he didn't. Still, it was something they had known about each other from a young age and hadn't come up in a long time. He didn't think she'd just leave without another attempt to convince him into it.

So what could it have been?

In his darkest moment, he said she had found another man. In his craziest, he gave her a terminal disease, and she had left to save him the pain of facing it with her.

He wanted anything else. Job relocation was an excuse. He knew it was. It just had to be. They were stronger than that, and he wanted her to prove it to him.

Otherwise, he would have to admit that she wanted a career more than she wanted him. He wasn't sure he could accept that.

He heard feminine giggling from the other side of his front door, indicating Tai had returned home. The giggling came from their neighbour, an annoyingly loud and annoyingly rich recent uni graduate who liked to bother them from time to time, no thanks to Tai's encouragement. She had moved in earlier that year, and Tai and Matt had both agreed they hated her until she crashed Tai's 27th birthday party afterparty. Tai went to kick her out and came back with lip gloss on his face and a new smart TV. He started to be really nice to her after that, insisting they keep her around at least until Christmas.

Knowing his flatmate's entrance was imminent, Matt sluggishly reached over to put out his cigarette. Tai had passive-aggressively put his new ashtray on the balcony this morning, and Matt had passive-aggressively placed it back in its original spot at the coffee table once he found it. He had opened a window, but that was the extent of his compromise.

The door opened slowly, though judging by the fact that Tai was still looking in the direction of their neighbour's flat, he was still stuck in conversation with her. Matt didn't have to listen to know what they were talking about. She was inviting them out with her friends or asking what they were doing over the weekend. Tai, not wanting to hang out with a bunch of young uni graduates, was lying.

Tai started to back into the flat, smiling fakely as he said in his this-is-me-being-nice-but-I-want-you-to-leave-me-alone-now voice, "All right. I'll let you know if anything changes. Have a nice weekend." He shut the door and let out an annoyed sigh, then instantly crinkled his nose from the cigarette scent still in the air.

Predictably, however, he did not say anything about it. A week ago, he would have gotten an earful, but lately Tai let him get away with a lot more things.

"Don't you ever work?" he asked instead.

Matt reached for his bottle of gin and refilled his empty glass, rolling his eyes a little. "I went to work today. You saw me leave this morning."

For three days following his breakup, he hadn't found the will to go to work or let anyone know why. By Thursday, Tai had literally dragged him out the door and into his car, driving the thirty-minute commute to Chofu for him and saving him from getting fired. He had felt bad about that, especially since Tai's office was in Chiyoda, the opposite direction of Chofu from their Shibuya flat. He had spent a grand total of an hour and twenty minutes driving that morning, which was four times as long as it usually took. He had not been happy about that.

Tai tossed his suit jacket on the chair adjacent to the couch and disappeared into the kitchen, coming back out a moment later with a glass of ice. He took a seat, then reached for the bottle that Matt did not necessarily want to share.

"At least dilute the stuff," Tai nagged, putting some of his ice into Matt's glass, purposely letting the alcohol overflow. "What the hell are you doing drinking straight gin by yourself? You look pathetic."

He had started out with ice. He just got lazy after they melted.

"Calm down. I only had one," he lied. In actuality, he had had three, but it was still not enough to get him drunk, just buzzed.

"I'm sure you did," Tai said sarcastically, pouring himself a generous helping as well. "Anyway, what are you doing tonight?"

Matt grunted.

"So nothing," Tai concluded. "Let's go out."

"No," he said automatically.

Tai frowned, even though he should have expected that answer. "Come on, don't be lame! It's a Friday night, and you're telling me that instead of going out and celebrating your new single status, you're going to sit at home and feel sorry for yourself?"

"You can go out if you want," Matt responded curtly.

Tai sighed. "Matt, I hate to play this card, but you owe me."

He held his bandaged hand up towards him. Evidently, last Sunday after a very hungover Tai mopped the kitchen, sanitised the living room and cried over his ruined Scotch, he had gone into the bathroom to clean it. The idiot slipped on spilled body wash and grabbed a handful of broken mirror during his fall, consequently cutting up his hand. Because Matt was in a near comatose state, he had to bandage it himself before finishing the cleanup one-handed.

He knew the only reason he was still alive was because Tai felt guilty on account of him being heartbroken and therefore didn't have it in him to murder him ruthlessly. He knew he owed him, but he couldn't help but think his friend was being a little insensitive about the whole ordeal.

"I don't want to go," Matt repeated. "I'm not like you. I don't want to go out and hit on girls."

"I know that. You want a girlfriend, right?"

"No, I want Megumi."

"How do you get a girlfriend if you sit at home feeling depressed all the time?" Tai continued, ignoring him completely. "Come on, I'll be your wingman. I'm really good at being one."

Matt's annoyance rose. "I dated Meg for thirteen years. I can't get over her in a week."

Tai feigned a whimper, holding his bandaged hand to his chest. "Ow, my hand…"

He reached over and hit it just for good measure. "Shut up. I know you. You probably only still have that on to try to guilt me into going out with you."

"Come on!" Tai snapped impatiently. "For six days you've been crying over that bitch—"

"She's not a bitch," he corrected, now almost reflexively. He wasn't sure if Tai really thought Megumi was one or if he was just thought it was his duty as his friend to call her that, but it was starting to get on his nerves.

"She dumped you for a job. She's a bitch," Tai declared haughtily, looking frustrated. "For all you know, she's having the time of her life in the UK with her legs around some other guy. Are you going to sit here and let her do that to you?"

He couldn't help himself. The imaginary scenario flashed in his mind and filled his head with a jealous rage.

"I hate you," Matt hissed, now unable to get the image out of his mind. "You're the fucking worst."

"No, if I were the worst, I'd tell you to sit at home and feel sorry for yourself all night. She's not ringing you. She's not even in the damn country anymore. Get over it, put on some decent clothes and let's go."

"I'm not going."

"You're single, Matt!" Tai reminded him, continuing to make it worse. "Do you not realise what this means? You're no longer bound to another person! You can do whatever you want, when you want, how you want, where you want, for any reason! You're not obligated to tell somebody else where you are all the time. You can talk to whoever you want to and live life the way you see fit. Take it from me, being single is the greatest freedom in the world, and you're _wasting_ it by sitting at home! Don't you want to see what being single is like? For crying out loud, you've practically been married to her since you were fourteen!"

He glared at him angrily. "Why the fuck would you compare this to a divorce?"

"Exactly, you hate divorce. Now get up! We're going out, even if I have to drag you there myself."

He didn't budge. "Whatever, I'm not going anywhere with you."

"You're going," Tai growled authoritatively, plucking Matt up from the couch with his good hand. "You owe me for Sunday, asshole. It took me three fucking hours to clean. You owe me three hours, or so help me God I will burn everything that reminds you of Meg when you leave for work Monday, even if it's everything in your goddamn room."

* * *

Tai was such a douchebag.

Matt watched his friend's eyes flicker as they walked into the bar, and he became unsure whether Tai had brought him here because he truly wanted to help him get over his failed relationship or because he just wanted some ass.

"Right there," Tai said, nudging him not even ten seconds after entering. "Redhead at the bar. She's by herself. It's perfect."

He didn't bother to look over, feet still glued to the threshold of the bar. "I don't want to do this."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I really don't."

Tai turned to look at him irritably, no trace of sympathy or pity in his expression. "Fine, have sex with yourself for the rest of your life then."

He scowled hatefully at Tai as he began walking away but reluctantly followed him, knowing he would probably not let him leave until he cooperated just a little bit.

Upon approaching the main bar area, he noticed right away that the girl Tai had picked out was not nearly as beautiful as Megumi. She had copper hair and slightly tanned skin, and that was all he distinguished about her before losing interest entirely. As Tai introduced himself, he checked his mobile.

No missed calls.

He had no way of contacting Megumi, as she had never given him her new number. She had his memorised though, so all he had to do was wait for her to ring him.

She would cave in soon. He knew it. Any moment now, she would ring.

He felt a hard elbow to his side. He glared at Tai, who was glaring back.

"I said," Tai said with a warning look before smiling at the girl, "this is my friend, Matt. Matt, this is Sora."

"Nice to meet you," she said warmly, extending her hand.

"You too," he muttered irritably, still annoyed that he was even here. Tai gave him another hostile nudge, so he took her hand and shook it.

She didn't seem to think anything of his rudeness, allowing them to still talk to her, even removing a small handbag from the stool beside her to make room for them to sit. Tai forcefully pushed him onto the seat, while he stood between them.

"So what are you doing here by yourself?" Tai asked her when Matt made no attempt to start a conversation.

Since Tai was the one who had asked the question, she looked at him as she answered. Matt drowned them out, already knowing what was going to happen. Tai was going to bullshit his way into getting this girl to like him, and she would fall for it because Tai was the king of bullshitting.

He turned his focus back on his mobile instead.

It indicated it had full signal, but was it even working properly? Come to think of it, he'd had it for almost a year now, and he had never made any special effort to keep it from getting damaged. There was a chance it was broken. What if she was ringing him right this moment, but it wasn't going through?

Just as he concluded that his mobile was broken, he heard Tai mention his name.

"You know, Matt here has a car," Tai suggested suddenly, grabbing Matt by the arm and bringing him into the conversation. Matt, not having heard a word, looked at Tai blankly, waiting for him to give him a hint. "You can drive Sora back."

He felt fury as it hit him that Tai had volunteered him to take this girl home, but not wanting to cause a scene, only furrowed his brows at him. He didn't know what was wrong with Tai, as surely he couldn't have forgotten that they had walked here.

Tai nonchalantly moved behind Sora and made hand signals to Matt indicating he would walk home, pick up Matt's car and drive it back to the bar for him.

Tai was mad, Matt concluded. Mad and desperate.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," Sora said hurriedly, shaking her hands at him. "I'm just hoping my friend doesn't drink more than she said she would, but I've got my car here too."

"Matt can drive it for you," Tai offered as he walked back to his original position between them. Matt kicked his shin, though Tai's face showed no pain.

"No, don't worry about it," she insisted. "I don't even know if she's drinking or not. I just lost her for a second, but she's bound to come by here eventually. I'm just a little worried. I hope she's all right."

Sora turned around to scan the area, giving Tai the opportunity to stomp on his foot in revenge.

_I'm not driving her home_, Matt mouthed silently to him.

Tai glared back. _Yeah, you are, so don't drink._

Even if he didn't drink a single thing at this bar, it didn't erase the fact that he had four glasses of gin in his system from earlier that night.

She turned back around, and Tai instantly put on that smile of his that he always bragged won girls over. He remembered when Megumi admitted that she thought Tai had a charming smile. He hadn't been thrilled about that.

"Your friend will be fine," Tai assured. "She's probably just having fun. So should you."

She returned his smile with one of her own. "Some of us can have fun without drinking, you know."

"Hey, so can we," he countered lightly, showing her his empty hands. "But this _is_ a bar. A fairly nice one at that. I take it you've been here before? This is our first time."

This had been done on purpose. He most likely chose to go here to avoid going anywhere that would remind Matt of Megumi.

Tai began to warningly kick Matt's leg to tell him to at least make an effort to talk to her, though his friendly expression remained unchanged as he listened to her response. "Well, I don't really go to bars that often, but I like this place. It doesn't get too crazy, and it has good music."

"Music?" Tai scoped out, hitting Matt's back stiffly. "What a coincidence! Matt here _loves_ music! He writes his own stuff. It's really good. Tell her, Matt."

This was the first time Tai had ever said a positive thing about his music.

Sora, who had mostly been keeping eye contact with Tai, finally turned to look at him, looking genuinely interested. "Wow, that's incredible! You know, they have live bands here on Fridays and Saturdays. They usually play upstairs. Do you guys want to check it out?"

"Sure, we'd love to," Tai agreed eagerly as he ushered Matt out of his chair.

Matt didn't react, his attention back on his mobile. He could have sworn he heard it beep. He turned the screen on, only to confirm he had imagined it.

"Oops, that's for me," Tai piped up, plucking his mobile out of his hand. He looked apologetically at Sora. "I have to take this call really quickly, but I'll meet up with you two upstairs, okay?"

Tai gave him a warning jab in the rib and her a warm smile before he left the scene, leaving Matt to scowl angrily at his direction, wanting nothing more than to charge at him and kill him for sticking him in this situation. He couldn't believe he called that bastard his friend.

"Shall we go?" she asked him friendlily, also standing up from her barstool.

He looked at her blankly, watching as her pleasant expression turned uneasy from his lack of response. He didn't want to talk to this girl, and even if Tai would yell him for it later, he didn't want to lead her on.

"I should wait for my friend."

He had said it so hollowly that she seemed to immediately become aware of his disinterest, and things took an uncomfortable turn as she awkwardly sat back down.

"Oh, of course." She took a sip of her drink, clearly trying to think of something else to say. She went with the only thing she knew about him. "So, what kind of music do you like?"

He didn't respond to her right away, this mind too preoccupied. He couldn't believe Tai took his mobile. What if Megumi were to ring him now? He didn't want her to know he was at a bar, even if Tai had forced him here.

He hated him.

"Loads," he answered finally, though he had probably waited too long to answer.

She acknowledged him anyway, nodding stiffly. "Yeah, music's great…"

A cloud of awkwardness enveloped them. He didn't want to be the one to walk away, knowing Tai would harass him for it, but in spite of his obvious signs, she wasn't leaving either.

The bartender came as their saviour, choosing that moment to approach them. "Can I get you anything?"

He immediately ordered a gin and tonic for himself, then wrestled with the thought of buying Tai something too. Matt suspected that between his breakup, the mess he had made in their flat and Tai's Scotch, Tai was most upset about the loss of his treasured alcohol. Maybe if he bought him a glass of something expensive, he'd stop bitching about it.

"For the lady?"

"Oh, I'm not with him," she clarified, shaking her head as she glanced at him nervously. "Don't worry about me."

In spite of his foul mood, he decided he should at least perform basic manners.

That, and he would make Tai pay him back double later.

"No, order what you want," he insisted.

She looked unsure but eventually settled with ordering a cocktail. He added a top shelf Scotch for Tai and, after a second's debate, decided to open a tab. She thanked him when the bartender had gone, and he merely nodded in response, making way for awkward silence to ensue. He reached to check his mobile again, forgetting that Tai had run off with it. Annoyed, he tapped a finger against the bar as she gradually finished her first drink, neither speaking or making eye contact with the other until the bartender came back with their order.

Unable to take it anymore, he took his drink in one hand and Tai's in the other, then stood up from his chair.

"I should go find my friend."

She smiled at him, and he wondered whether she was relieved to get rid of him. "Sure thing. It was nice to meet you, Matt."

It was when she said his name that he realised he had already forgotten hers. Though people often told him it was obvious when he was faking it, he tried to smile back, then went off in the direction Tai had gone.

He was intercepted by the stairs.

"What the hell!" Tai hissed, jumping out of nowhere. He hit his arm, making Matt spill a little of the drinks he was holding. "You were supposed to go watch that stupid band with her! Why did you walk away?!"

He handed Tai his Scotch to shut him up, then snatched his mobile back out of his hand. "She isn't my type."

Tai rolled his eyes, not even thanking him as he accepted it. "And what is your type?"

"Megumi," they said at the same time.

Tai rolled his eyes again. "You're so annoying."

Matt ignored him, drinking some of his gin and tonic that he could have made at home.

"Where are you going?" he asked as Tai began to walk away.

Tai turned around for a second to glare at him. "To fix things, you arse."

Matt shrugged and let him go. Whatever. At least it'd get him off his back for a short while. He took a seat in a high top and turned his mobile back on to check for any messages. None. He checked the time in the UK next. It was still daytime there. Megumi was probably at work, but today was the day she'd finally give him a call. Staring at his mobile, he knew that, any moment now, it was going to ring.

* * *

He didn't understand what Matt's problem was. This Sora girl was hot and had actually seemed interested in him. That in itself was already a miracle given his pitiful state, so he couldn't think of a single reason as to why he wouldn't even make an attempt.

Megumi left him for something as materialistic as a job. He used to like her a lot, but if that was the kind of selfish person she really was, as far as Tai was concerned, she wasn't worth the amount of grief Matt was putting into her.

Spotting Sora where he had seen her last, he crossed over to the main bar.

"Hello again."

She looked up to face him, looking slightly surprised. "Hi."

He sat down in the empty seat beside her, shaking his head in feigned disappointment. "You rejected my friend," he accused good-naturedly.

She laughed a little, moving her drink to make room for him to set his down. "I didn't! I don't think he was very interested in me."

"Nonsense, he's just shy," Tai lied. "He's been talking about how beautiful you are since we walked in."

She smirked knowingly, looking like she didn't believe him. "Is that so? I saw you two walk in. You guys hadn't even been here for a minute before you came over to me." She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to deny it.

"I guess he wanted to make his move before some other guy did," he covered quickly. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice as if telling her a secret. "He's got no game though. Go easy on him."

She put a hand over her mouth, laughing lightly. "Aw, well, that isn't a very nice thing to say about your friend."

He grinned as he sat up straight again, waving a hand. "Don't worry, we say that to each other's faces. I haven't got any game either, so it's fair game."

She stirred the drink that he had seen Matt buy her, then lifted the straw to her lips. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think you're rather charming."

He flashed her a thankful smile, then glanced back at Matt's direction as she took a sip. He was sitting by himself, glass between his teeth, eyes glued on his mobile, his hand fishing through his pockets for those disgusting cigarettes of his no doubt.

He looked pathetic. It almost made him angry how pathetic he looked.

"Your friend is very handsome," Sora admitted, following his trail of sight.

Tai resisted the urge to roll his eyes. For as long as he had known Matt, he had had to deal with girls praising his attractiveness and probing him for his relationship status. Back when he was younger, it had made him incredibly jealous, and he had rather enjoyed watching girls' dreams be crushed as he let them know Matt had a serious girlfriend. He had since outgrown the petty jealousy, but he never did quite understand why girls always felt the need to tell _him_ this piece of information.

She drank the last bit of her drink before setting the empty glass back on the bar, probably hoping she could get him to buy her a new one.

He obliged.

"Want another?" he asked her, already raising his hand to beckon the bartender over.

She reached out and covered his hand with her own, lowering it. "No, I'm fine. I've already had two. That's my limit."

"Two? Are you kidding me?" he asked incredulously. "Come on, play like a champion."

She winced, shaking her head to decline despite his teasing. "I can't. I told you. I can't count on my friend to stay sober, and one of us has to drive tonight."

"And I told _you_," he persisted, "Matt can take you home."

She looked over his shoulder, then raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure? He doesn't look like he'll be able to drive either."

He turned around in his chair. Matt was still by himself at his table, though a waitress had just brought him another drink along with a few shots. Matt hated shots.

"Or I could," he said quickly, cursing him in his mind.

She looked concerned, looking at Matt still. "Is he all right? He looks a little…" She didn't finish her sentence, at a loss for the correct word.

The word was "pathetic." She was probably just too polite to say it.

"Nah, he's fine," Tai dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Come on, order something. I don't like drinking by myself, so it's on me."

If this had been earlier in the week, he would have actively tried to stop Matt, but after receiving a painful punch to the jaw for not leaving him alone on Tuesday, Tai decided to leave him be for now.

Instead, he would bank on the hope that if Matt got drunk enough, maybe he'd forget about Megumi and hit on Sora instead. And if he could get Sora drunk too, maybe she'd hit on him back. Beautiful thing, alcohol.

This time, she complied, ordering herself a beer while he decided to cut himself off. Apparently, there was a chance he was driving this girl home tonight.

"So where do you live?" he asked casually, trying to determine whether he could just stick her in a cab instead.

"I live around here, but my friend and I just got back from Kyoto. That's why my car is here," Sora explained. "It has all our luggage inside, so I don't want to leave it here overnight."

And that ruled out the cab.

"Kyoto? What were you doing over there?" He tried to sound interested, even though he was mentally kicking himself for ever offering to drive her. He should have known Matt wouldn't stay sober. He hadn't had a sober night since Megumi.

"I'm from Kyoto. I went to visit family, and my friend tagged along just for fun."

He put on his best excited face. "Really? What a coincidence!" he exclaimed. "_Matt's_ family is from Kyoto too!"

Okay, it was a lie, but it was just a little white one. In a city as cosmopolitan as Japan's capital, people loved meeting others from their hometown.

Indeed, she perked up, instantly appearing interested after hearing it. "Really? What part?"

He shrugged. "No idea. I've lived in Tokyo my whole life." Then, he added as an indicative hint, "You should ask him. He loves talking about it."

If she picked up on his clue, she didn't show it, as she ignored that statement entirely. "I like Tokyo too. It took a little getting used to when I first got here, but I really like it now."

"That's what Matt said too."

The bartender set down her beer, and Tai laid out some notes to pay for it. She was trying to hide a smirk as she watched him, and he could tell she knew what he was trying to do.

"So you said your friend writes music, right?"

"Yeah, he's great," Tai said, pretending to sound like he actually enjoyed the ruckus Matt liked to call music. "He sings and plays a couple instruments too. Pretty talented guy."

"That's nice. What about you?"

He chuckled, humoured by the thought. "No, not me. I'm useless when it comes to music."

She shook her head. "No, I mean what do you like to do?"

"Oh." She probably felt obligated to talk to him after he bought her a drink. "I like sport."

"Really?" She brightened and reached out to touch his forearm. "I love sport! I used to play football and tennis back in school."

He noticed she kept touching him. He purposely retreated his arm from her, using it to pick up his drink.

"Football," he repeated, nodding his head in approval. "Cheers to that."

He lightly tapped his glass against hers, and they each took a sip before she asked, "Well then, I take it you're following the J1 League?"

"Of course. This is F.C. Tokyo's year."

"No way! Kyoto Sanga's a much better team."

He dropped his jaw and stood up, extending his arm out to her. "Well then, Sora, it was nice to meet you, but it looks like I can't talk to you any longer." She threw her head back in laughter as he pretended to glare at her, then reached for his arms to pull him back down. He let her seat him back in his stool. "Can we just be honest though? Kyoto Sanga hasn't ranked in the Top Ten of the J1 League in the last decade. You only like them because they're from your hometown, but they suck."

"Hey! Tokyo hasn't done that well either," she countered immediately.

He didn't want his competitiveness and diehard loyalty for his team to get the best of him, but they did anyway. "I'm sorry. Are you seriously implying that Kyoto Sanga can even begin to compare to Tokyo?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm _saying_ that Kyoto Sanga is just as good—" Tai scoffed loudly. "—if not better than Tokyo."

"Wow, I really can't talk to you. I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that to me, Sora."

She smirked at him. "You seem pretty confident in your team."

"And you seem pretty delusional about yours."

She let the comment pass, leaning in closer towards him. "Well then, if you think that, maybe we can watch their next match together. It'll give me the pleasure of telling you 'I told you so.'"

Uh-oh.

"Well, you know, Matt's a huge fan of Kyoto Sanga," he lied, bringing the topic back to him. "You should watch their next match with him."

Never mind that Matt barely even watched World Cup matches, much less knew anything about football clubs.

She sat up straight again and looked at him confusedly. "You're really trying to get me to like your friend, aren't you?"

Caught red-handed, he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the side of his neck. "It's just that he's been going through a bit of a rough time."

Quite suddenly, all trace of pleasantry disappeared from her face, replaced by an offended frown. "I get it. So you come to a bar to pick up the first girl you see to make him feel better?"

He grew alarmed by her deduction and the accusatory tone in which she had called him out for it. "No, it's not like that. I just…" He tried to search for a way to save the situation but fell short.

"Thanks for the beer then," she said curtly, standing up. "Have a good night."

Clearly insulted, she marched away, leaving him dumbfounded in how stupidly he had messed that up. Why had he said the truth instead of covering it with a lie? She had seemed so laidback, but obviously no girl would be delighted to learn something like that.

Shot down, he let out a sigh and downed the rest of his Scotch, then turned towards Matt's direction to glare at him. His attention was elsewhere, so he too got up and stormed over.

"Can you help me light this?" Matt slurred once Tai had come. Face slightly flushed, he held a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other. He stuck the cigarette in his mouth, filter faced out, then held out the lighter to him.

"You really suck," Tai hissed, snatching the stick from Matt's mouth and snapping it in half.

He laughed as he fumbled through his carton for another. "Why, did you get rejected? Deeeenied. You loser. That's what you get."

"I hate you."

"No, I hate _you_!" Matt barked, standing up and stumbling on the high chair. He jabbed a finger at Tai's shoulder as he tried to balance himself. "I _told_ you I didn't want to go out!"

Tai pushed Matt back down in his chair. "All right, stop yelling at me. We're in public."

Matt flopped his arms over the high top table, practically hugging it to keep himself from falling. "I'm drunk."

"Yes, I can see that," Tai agreed impatiently. "Go close your tab, and let's go."

Matt shook his head, cheek pressed against the filthy table. "You close it. I don't even want to look at how much it is." He squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand down the right side of his face. "I hate myself."

Tai sighed. As a person who rarely got drunk in public or showed any extreme side of himself, such a state did not suit Matt. "Fine, I'll be right back."

By the time he went back to the bar, he saw that it had quite suddenly gotten crowded, feeding his impatience. Even worse, the bartender was male, so he knew he wouldn't get any attention until all the women had been served.

What a waste of a Friday night.

"Your friend looks like he needs to go home."

He turned around at the sound of a semi-familiar voice and came to face Sora once again. It hadn't been that long, but she didn't seem angry anymore, smirking at him.

"Hey," he said confusedly, trying to hide his surprise.

"You said you'd drive me home," she reminded him, crossing her arms though her expression remained light-hearted. "You're the one who made me go over my limit, so take responsibility."

God, damn it.

"Yes. That. Right. Well, you see, I—" As he tried to think of an excuse, his eyes drifted past her to Matt, who had his mobile up to his ear. Not good. "I'll be right back," he finished hastily, sprinting to his flatmate before she had a chance to respond. "Who are you ringing?"

Matt covered his free ear with a hand to tell him to shut up. "Meg."

"She _moved_, dumbass. She doesn't have that number anymore."

"I _know_, dumbass. I'm ringing her mum to ask for her n—" He straightened up as the other line picked up. "Hello? Mrs Kane—" In a panic, Tai snatched Matt's mobile out of his hand and turned it off as quickly as he could.

"Have you gone fucking mad?!" Tai demanded furiously, making absolute certain that the call had ended. "You're ringing her mother?!"

"Well, I tried to ring her sister, but she didn't answer!" Matt snapped back, just as angrily. "What do you want me to do?!"

"I want you to stop being a pathetic drunk ass and _sit still_ while I close your tab! Got it?"

Matt did the opposite, trying to stand up, shoving Tai's shoulder in his angry, drunken state. "_You're_ the one who made me come here!"

"And believe me, I've regretted it since. Don't move, and _no crying_!"

"Fuck off, I'm not going to cry!"

"You better not. I swear to God I will bitch slap the shit out of you if you cry in public."

"Fuck you, Tai!"

"No, fuck you!"

"Fuck you, and give me back my mobile!" Matt reached out for Tai's hand, falling off his chair and grabbing Tai's arm for support.

"You'll get it at the end of the night," Tai hissed, setting him back on his chair, making a mental note to delete Megumi's family members' numbers off his mobile when Matt wasn't looking. "Just _stay_."

"I'm not a fucking dog, you fucking moron."

Tai raised his hands, ready to strangle Matt's neck, but knowing it would do little more than get him thrown out of the bar, strangled air instead.

"Tsk, tsk. Such language."

Overcome with frustration, Tai turned to see that Sora had once again appeared next to him, looking half concerned, half amused.

"Do you need help?" she asked, cocking her head.

Embarrassed that she had seen him lose his temper in public, he quickly tried to compose himself. "No, we're fine. He's just really drunk."

"Fuck you, I'm not drunk." Matt flopped out of his chair and suddenly jerked towards Sora without warning. She backed away a step by instinct, freaked out by his abrupt approach, so Tai tried to pull him back into his seat.

"Sit still!" Tai hissed, annoyed that he had randomly scared her.

"No, I have to warn her about you!" Matt hissed back, flailing his arms in an attempt to swat him away. Then, as loudly as he could, he yelled, "Tai sleeps with a lot of women!" Bewildered, Tai froze, and Matt grinned, satisfied, as he sat back down on his own. "Whatever he said to you was a lie to get you to go home with him."

While Tai could only stare at his friend in astonishment—where the _hell_ had that come from?!—Sora smirked with amusement. "Is that so?"

"He's full of _shit_! He's a shit friend and a shit human being, and he's never going to talk to you after tonight!"

It took every bit of willpower in him to maintain his cool instead of killing Matt the way he wanted. He looked at Sora pleadingly, not knowing what else to do. "I'm really sorry, but can you make sure he sits here? I have to close his tab. It'll only take a minute, and I swear he's harmless."

"Sure thing," she said, taking the seat across from Matt. Surprised that she had agreed so readily, she cheekily added, "You are driving me home, after all."

He had brought it upon himself, really. The world was punishing him for trying to be a good friend.

Lesson learned.

"Yeah," he agreed, giving in.

"He's lying to you!" he heard Matt continually insist to her as he walked back to the bar. He would beat the crap out of Matt later, but for now he just wanted to take the little bugger home.

Or throw him away, depending on the limitations of his patience.

"Yamato Ishida," he grunted at the bartender. Then, for lack of better judgment, he took out his own bankcard and gave it to him. "Put it on that."

For as much as he wanted to tear the bastard apart, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him at the same time.

He instantly regretted it after seeing the triple digit number on his bill but hastily signed it before darting back to his friend, afraid of what damage he might have done.

"And he hit on my _mum_ once. Can you believe that? What the fuck kind of sick ass motherfucker does that? That's the kind of deranged person he is, Sara."

Ex-friend. Matt was officially his ex-friend.

"Let's go," he growled, grabbing him by his shirt collar.

"So don't sleep with him!" Matt concluded.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly, standing up too. She made playful eye contact with him, apparently not judging him even though Matt had effectively tried to ruin him. "I won't."

"It was nice to meet you," Tai said tightly.

"Pleasure was all mine," she said with another easygoing smile. "Do you need help getting him back? I was going to ask you about it earlier, but you look like you injured your hand."

He shook his bandaged hand a little, flexing his fingers. "I can manage. We live nearby, and he's not throwing up yet."

"Fuck you. I'm not going to throw up."

"We'll be fine," Tai assured, ignoring Matt's angry rebuking. "Thank you for everything, by the way."

She crossed her arms and feigned a frown. "I must say I'm a little disappointed though. Does this mean you can't drive me home?"

Was she trying to drive him crazy? Couldn't she see he was in no state to do anything but get his flatmate to bed?!

"Rain check?" he tried.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I need it back tonight."

He groaned in his head. "Okay, I'll tell you what. I'll put him to bed, and then I'll come back to drive you home."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Yeah right. You and I can both tell that's a lie."

"Tai's a liar!" Matt cried. Tai shook him a little to shut him up. "Ow!"

He set Matt up against the table, then held out his hand. She blinked in confusion.

"Give me your mobile. I'll give you my number, and if I don't show up, you can ring me."

She thought it over for a second, then fished through her handbag for her mobile. He contemplated putting in a fake one, then Matt's, but ultimately decided to enter his own.

"There," he said, giving it back to her. "Just give me fifteen minutes. I'll be right back."

* * *

Tai threw Matt on his bed, purposely making it hurt a little.

"You're such a shitty friend," Matt hissed, sitting up immediately and pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Shut up, and go to sleep."

"I hate you."

"Go to sleep."

"I hate Megumi."

"I know you do. Go to sleep."

"She ruined my life."

"It's because she's a bitch. Go to sleep, and you'll forget about her."

"She's not a bitch."

Tai rolled his eyes. Even in this state, he managed to defend her. "Fine, she's not. Just go to sleep."

"She was perfect," Matt continued, eyes rolling back from being so out of it. "She was so perfect. She was so—"

"Matt."

"What?"

"I swear I will knock you out with that blasted violin of yours if you don't shut up and go to sleep."

"You're just trying to get back to the bar to hook up with that girl," he said miserably, pulling his duvet over him as he finally lied down. "And for the millionth time, it's a bass guitar, you dumbass piece of shit."

"No," he corrected. "I have to go back because I told her I'd drive her back home because _you_—"

Matt turned over so his back was facing Tai. "Whatever, asshole. Get out of my room."

Tai sighed with relief as he turned off his light. "Good night."

"Piss off."

"Yeah, yeah."

He closed the door behind him before running a hand over his face. He couldn't believe he now had to go back to the stupid bar, just to drive some random girl home.

Feeling his mobile vibrate in his pocket, he took it out and opened a message from an unknown number.

_Hey, this is Sora from the bar. Turns out my friend kept her word and can drive, so no need to come back. I hope your friend is all right. Give me a ring about Kyoto Sanga beating F.C. Tokyo?_

Thank the Lord.

Without answering, he went straight to his room and flopped on his own bed in exhaustion, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Notes:  
- "Football" is "soccer" for Americans (and technically the Japanese too).  
- Sora being from Kyoto is taken from the fact that her father is a professor at Kyoto University, as well as evidence pointing to Kyoto being the hometown of her mother. A discrepancy is that Kyoto Sanga is actually part of the J2 League this year, but they do switch between the divisions quite a bit.


	3. Chapter 3: Rain Check

Thank you to all who are taking the time to read this and reviewers for the feedback!

**Paradigm Shift  
Chapter 3: Rain Check**

A familiar headache indicated that he had awoken, though he hoped by keeping his eyes shut, it would seem like he was still sleeping. His throbbing temples disproved the theory, and he grumpily turned to bury his face into his pillow in discontent. He instantly shot up, taken aback by the offending stench that came from it.

Groaning groggily, he lifted his eyes, though the slow tempo in which he did it was unnecessary. His dark, opaque curtains kept the sun's rays out where they belonged, so he didn't need to adjust to a dramatic change of light. He looked down at his clothes to see they were the same ones from the night before, then lifted his shirt and sniffed it, almost gagging as he smelled the same rancid reek of bar.

His hangover told him to go back to sleep, but he knew he was in desperate need of a shower. He groaned again as he rolled himself out of bed, the couple metres to the door feeling more like a trek up a steep mountain with his headache that threatened to split his brain in two.

"Are you awake?" he heard Tai ask the moment he opened the door.

He grunted back in confirmation, which Tai probably couldn't hear from wherever he was. It sounded like he was in the kitchen.

As he turned the hallway to go to the bathroom, Tai appeared with a mug in hand, sombre expression in place. "You're such an ass."

Matt ignored him, reaching for his mug instead.

"Screw you," Tai hissed, pulling it back. "This is mine. Go make your own."

"Why are you yelling at me first thing in the morning?" he muttered, his head throbbing too much for him to make an actual effort to sound annoyed.

"It's almost noon. It's not morning," Tai corrected, glaring at him. "Do you remember what you did last night?"

Matt drew his focus from the Tai's hand to his face, glowering at him. "I remember telling you that I didn't want to go out, but you forced me anyway."

He frowned, then handed the mug to Matt. "I can't take you anywhere."

He didn't respond, scowling instead at the brown, transparent liquid in his hands. "I want coffee."

"Well, you got tea."

"I don't want tea. I want coffee."

"Then make some damn coffee, you ungrateful prat."

Ignoring Tai, he closed his eyes as he took a drink, instantly feeling refreshed though he would never admit it aloud.

"You told some girl I sleep with a lot of women and hit on your mum," Tai informed him when Matt didn't make an attempt to expand on the conversation.

Matt lifted an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, he remembered some girl Tai had picked out at the bar in two seconds, who he had not gone home with. He was probably upset about that last bit.

"So what?" he muttered, taking another sip of tea. "It's not like I lied. Don't blame me just because you couldn't get her by the end of the night."

"I didn't want her," Tai corrected in exasperation. "I picked her out for you!"

"Whatever. You probably only picked her because you weren't interested yourself, you selfish bastard."

"She was hot!"

"She was okay."

Tai rolled his eyes, letting it go because he knew it was a lost cause. "And stop telling people I hit on your mum. That never happened, and it makes me sound like a sick pervert."

Matt grunted. Okay, it was an exaggeration, but Tai did try to flatter her as much as he could whenever he saw her, and it made him uncomfortable.

"Speaking of mums though, you called Megumi's last night."

He felt the colour drain from his face at his flatmate's words. "You're lying."

"You know what? I wish I were, but that really is how much of a dumbass you were last night." Tai took something from his pocket and gave it to him. His mobile. "You called her sister too."

He wanted to jump out the nearest window as that memory came back to him. He had all of Megumi's immediate family members' numbers, but he wasn't on terms with any of them where he could ring them whenever he wanted. He certainly wasn't on terms where he could drunk dial them.

Tai shrugged, predictably showing no sympathy in what was possibly the most mortifying thing that had ever happened to him. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. I turned it off before you could say anything to her mum, and you told me her sister didn't answer."

He could remember that Megumi's sister hadn't answered his call. He could also remember leaving her an inappropriately long voicemail. Though he couldn't remember the specifics of what he had said, he could guess the humiliating gist.

"I hate myself."

"I hate you too."

"Did I throw up?"

"No, actually. For once, you didn't."

"That's good," he muttered, though he felt like he would have to any moment. He took another gulp of tea. "Sorry for ruining your night."

"It's fine. I shouldn't have taken you out in the first place." Tai sighed, leaning back into the wall. "Who knows? Maybe this will be another thing we look back to in the future and laugh about. You know, like your 20th birthday."

"Yeah, I still don't laugh about that."

Tai chuckled dryly. He was the only person who found humour in that night because he couldn't remember any part of it. "Well, anyway, I tried to delete all their numbers, but I couldn't figure out your password. Make sure you delete them yourself so you don't do anything stupid next time."

"I will," he told him, though he knew he probably wouldn't. He added, "I'll make it up to you for last night."

He saw a devilish flicker appear in Tai's eyes and instantly regretted saying it.

"You will?" Tai provoked, taking out his own mobile. "Well then, I have Sora's number."

Who?

"Who?"

Tai showed visible annoyance at his short-term memory. "That girl we met at the bar last night. Ring her and ask her out."

"_No_."

Not wanting to hear any more but knowing he would if he stayed, he walked past Tai towards the bathroom door.

"Matt, come on!" Tai urged, following him like some sort of parasite. "There are billions of girls out there waiting for you to reel them in, but you have to actually go out and make an effort for that to happen!"

"I'm going to shower," he said, opening the door to let his friend know it was the end of the discussion.

"Why can't you just ring her?" Tai continued, standing at the threshold of the bathroom, refusing to give in. "It's not like I'm asking you to marry each other. Besides, even you have to admit she was way hotter than Meg."

Tai jumped back a little as Matt shut the door aggressively in his face, but he didn't let that hinder him. The thing about Matt was that he never agreed to anything right away. One had to be relentless with him.

"You're wasting your time crying over her!" Tai yelled through the door. Matt didn't answer, so he tried knocking. "Oy, did you hear me? I _said_ you're wasting your time c—"

"Do we have ibuprofen?" Matt interrupted testily.

"Stop changing the subject!" Tai hissed back. He hated when Matt did this, which was every time he didn't feel like talking, which was every five minutes.

"I have a headache! Do we have any damn ibuprofen?"

"Then stop drinking so much, dumbass!"

Matt responded by slamming his fist against the door.

He was taken a little aback by the sudden sound but sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll check. You're such an arse."

Matt didn't respond to that either, turning on the shower water instead.

He decided he would try to convince Matt later, when he was in a better mood and hadn't just woken up with a hangover.

He walked back to the kitchen, going into the cupboards to look for Matt's request. He had taken it quite often in the past week for his morning hangover, his afternoon migraine and his nightly drunkenness. So much so that when Tai finally found the bottle amidst a clutter of other drugs, he saw it was empty. Slightly annoyed that Matt had put an empty bottle back in the cabinet, he tossed it in the bin and decided to head to the pharmacy for another. He didn't want to be on the other side of Matt's mood when he told him that there wasn't any ibuprofen left.

He went into his room to grab his wallet from last night's trousers, tucking it into his pyjama pocket before heading out the door. It was another beautiful, crisp autumn day, but Matt would probably not go outside today either.

He walked to the convenient store just across the street from his flat. They knew him here, as well as Matt, because they frequented it often. Even if the prices at the store were significantly higher than at the market several blocks down, the two would buy it here simply because of its close proximity. This was the sort of laziness that drove his mother mad.

He smirked when he saw his favourite cashier through the window. Her name was Rie, a shy and slightly awkward uni student who had worked here since her schooling days. He couldn't call her pretty, but he thought she was cute. She barely reached his chest in height yet still managed to look lanky. Her long, pale blonde hair was always pulled up into a high ponytail, amber eyes always hidden behind glasses, face always pink when she talked to anyone. With her quiet, mousy voice and timid, innocent personality, he saw her as a little sister figure.

Not that she reciprocated that. She had had a thing for him for years, made obvious by her actions but never acted upon due to her shyness. He'd entertain that part of her sometimes. He would say a few nice words or occasionally lift a box for her, and she would give him a discount. Matt and Megumi judged him for it, saying he was leading her on, but he didn't think so. It was a fair trade, and Rie had to be aware that the two of them would never happen.

"Good afternoon, Rie," he greeted pleasantly. "You're looking lovely as usual."

"Hi Tai," she said shyly, the usual shade of pink rising to her cheeks.

He would usually engage in some friendly conversation and small talk with her, but today he left like going in and out. Instead, he only waved his fingers at her before walking around the small family store in search for Matt's ibuprofen. Once he obtained it, he distractedly went over to the refrigerated section, looking at the beer, contemplating. Matt had annoyingly emptied every alcoholic beverage in their flat, save a few bottles Tai had managed to hide, so he wondered if he should even buy more. It'd be gone before he'd get to it. He supposed he could hide it in his room, but he hated warm beer…

"Pre-gaming early?"

The voice sounded both familiar and unfamiliar to him, and he turned to see the girl from the bar the night before. She was smirking that cheeky smirk of hers at him, arms folded across her chest, and his own expression changed to mimic hers. He had to admit he had not given too much credit on her appearance the night before. Not that he hadn't thought she looked hot. She definitely had, but the thing about bars was that the dim lights made everyone look better. They always tricked him.

The harsh lighting of broad daylight was less forgiving, but he thought she looked just as stunning as he remembered her. It wasn't that she was dressed particularly smartly, as she only wore a thin t-shirt and casual jeans. Her face appeared to be free of makeup, but he could never tell with such things anyway. What intrigued him was that she was a tanned redhead. He had never seen one before, and, despite her approachable demeanour, it made her exotic to him.

He didn't get Matt. From the unbiased opinion of a professional women-appreciator, as opposed to the biased opinion of a lifelong Megumi-appreciator, he thought this girl blew his ex-girlfriend out of the water.

"You're stalking me," he said with a small grin.

She smiled back but didn't say anything, swooping beneath him to pick up some cases of beer.

"Pre-gaming early?" he teased, helping her as she pulled out case after case.

"My friend seems to think we should throw a welcome back party for being gone for a week," she explained with a laugh, standing up after she pulled out all six cases of Stella Artois. "They only have six left…"

He eyed the pile on the floor. "There's a liquor store a couple blocks away." Then, in case she would label him an alcoholic, he added, "I live around here."

She laughed at his hurried excuse. "You don't have to explain yourself, but I think I already went to that one. For some reason, my non-beer drinking friend has specified I only buy Stella Artois and has sent me to buy every single case in the district."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds like a wild party."

"Well, that's my friend for you," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Big parties aren't really my thing, but I promised her that I'd help her throw it. And since I have a car, I'm in charge of picking up supplies that she can't carry, which is pretty much everything. She's kind of a princess."

"Sounds like my flatmate," he joked. He held up the bottle in his hand. "This is for his hangover."

Her face fell slightly, looking genuinely concerned. "The poor thing. Is he feeling better?"

"He'll be fine," Tai said, waving his hand. "He's just being dramatic. Anyway, let me help you with these. You aren't going to carry all of these out of here, are you?"

"I brought my car, but are you sure?" she asked, gesturing at his bandaged hand.

He held it up and flexed it to show her it wasn't actually injured. The only reason he still had it wrapped up was to avoid infection—and admittedly for a little bit of pity from certain female co-workers. "This is nothing. Don't worry about it."

She still looked hesitant but didn't protest when he picked up four of the cases. When she bent down to pick up the remaining two, he used the crucial moment to examine her backside. He liked what he saw, but he quickly diverted his gaze when she stood back up, not wanting her to catch him.

When they walked up to the register, Rie smiled at him as she began to ring up the beer.

"Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to do it."

She truly did look thankful, almost hesitantly so as she looked at him. He waved that off too.

"Hey, you helped me out yesterday too, remember? Believe me, I was one second away from killing my friend before you showed up."

She laughed. "Well, he did say some interesting things about you when you were gone."

_I bet_, Tai thought sarcastically.

"Are you sure you two are friends?" she teased, as she handed Rie her credit card. "He didn't seem that fond of you."

"I'm not that fond of him either," Tai joked. He looked at Rie as she gave her her receipt. "Rie, tell her that Matt and I are friends."

Her cheeks turned pinker, nodding timidly. "Yes."

"Told you so," he said, turning his attention away from Rie once more. "Anyway, you said your car is outside, right? Let me just pay for this really quickly, and I'll help you."

Rie shook her hands shyly as he took his wallet from his back pocket. "No, take it. It's on me."

"You're the best, Rie," he accepted, pocketing the bottle and leaning down to pick up four of the six beer cases. They were heavy, but he showed no strain on his face. "I'll see you later, okay?"

As he was about to follow his new redheaded acquaintance out the door, he heard Rie clear her throat.

"Erm."

He look back to her with a sweet expression that hid his faint annoyance at her decision to talk to him _after_ he had picked up four heavy cases of beer.

"My friends and I are going to a keg party tonight," Rie said quietly, not looking at him in the eye. "If you aren't busy, maybe you could drop by? You can invite Matt and Megumi too."

He smiled politely at her. He was a little surprised that she even knew what a keg party was, but it was of no interest to him. Keg parties had been fun when he was in uni, but there were a million other things he'd rather do than go to a party full of girls who were probably too young to drink anyway.

Even if there weren't, it would take him a lifetime and a half to drag Matt to it.

"I'm so sorry," he said, pulling his best apologetic face. "Matt and I have family coming over tonight. Rain check?"

She turned redder as she laughed awkwardly. "Sure! Yeah! No problem!"

He felt sorry for her. This was the first time she had ever made an attempt to hang out with him, and he didn't want her to feel like he was rejecting her. "We'll definitely go to the next one. Just let one of us know, okay?"

Rie nodded so fiercely in agreement that her long ponytail whipped him in the face. She gasped in horror, but he laughed it off, telling her not to worry about it, not wanting to embarrass her more than she probably already was. She continued to repeat how sorry she was, preventing him from leaving as he kept having to assure her that it wasn't a big deal. He had to practically dash out the door between him telling her it was all right and her going into her hundredth apology, and he was met with that same cheeky grin.

"She seems nice."

Tai nodded, choosing to act oblivious to the implication. "Matt and I live across the street. We've known her for years."

She led him to her car, a small, burgundy-coloured Honda saloon parked on the side of the street. She twisted her key into the boot and struggled to lift up the door with an arm as she balanced two cases between her leg and car bumper.

"I didn't mean to listen to your conversation, but Megumi is…?"

"My girlfriend," he finished easily, reaching over her to open the door for her. He saw there was already a rather large amount of beer and liquor littered in it.

"Oh, I see…"

He laughed as he pulled back, allowing her to put her cases in first. "Disappointed?"

"Hardly," she said dryly, placing her two cases inside. "Disappointed at this Megumi girl for her taste in men maybe."

"Ouch." He pretended to look like his feelings had been hurt. "Well, it was a joke. Megumi is Matt's ex, so pretty much the farthest thing from my girlfriend."

"Oh no. The one he was sad about?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She used to come here with us a lot."

She mirrored his gesture, perhaps subconsciously. "And do you really have family coming in, or was that just an excuse not to go?"

He chuckled, not offended by the accusation. "It's really true."

She stepped back to give him room to put his cases inside. "I bet it is."

"You don't believe me."

He kept his eye contact on her as he too set down the cases he had been carrying. She was smirking down at him. "Your friend made it very clear that you're a liar last night."

He laughed to cover up the fact that he still wanted to punch Matt in the face for that. Closing the door for her, he simply said, "He was drunk."

Her smirk firmly still in place, she looked at him teasingly, arms crossed. "So you mean you don't lie to hook up with women?"

"I do not," he answered firmly.

"Uh-huh, so you're saying everything you said to me yesterday was true?"

"Ah… I didn't say that." He held up a finger. "But, in my defence, I wasn't trying to hook up with you."

She laughed. "All right then. Fair enough. If that's the case, no hard feelings, what did you lie about?"

He tried to think about what he told her, figuring there was no harm in revealing a few white lies. "Well, for one thing, Matt's family's not from Kyoto. His dad grew up in Shimane and his mum's from France, but he and I are both from Tokyo."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wow, France."

"You like?" Tai asked hopefully.

She didn't answer him. "What else?"

"Let's see…" He rolled his eyes slightly as he thought of another. "I don't actually have anything positive to say about Matt's music. It sounds more like noise than anything else, and it drives me up a wall."

"That's not very nice."

"Believe me, you'd hate it too if you've lived with him for as long as I have."

"You can never have too much good music," she mused.

He chuckled, amused because it was something he could imagine Matt saying to him.

"It's a shame, you know," he said, shaking his head. "You're perfect for him."

She shrugged playfully, grinning. "Sorry, I don't really like blonds."

He laughed, imagining the look on Matt's face if she had said that directly to him. He loved his hair.

"Well then," she challenged, "Is there anything you said to me last night that was actually true?"

"Of course," he said, not missing a beat. "I really do think Kyoto Sanga sucks. They're rubbish and should stay in the J2 League where they belong."

She shook her head disappointingly. "I knew I didn't like you."

"Well, for not liking me, you sure do like talking to me." She gave a wry smile but didn't comment, so he asked, "Any other questions, or are you done interrogating me?"

"Just one more," she said, leaning against her car. "What's my name?"

He laughed loudly, not having expected that. "Wow, you might as well just straight-up tell me you think I'm the scum of the earth. I'm so offended I don't even know what to do," he joked.

Another smirk crept on her face, looking satisfied that she had cornered him. "You don't remember it, do you?"

"I do."

"Then what is it?"

"What do I get if I get it right?"

"You're stalling."

"Do I at least get an apology?"

"I'll think about it."

He laughed. "Well, it's hard to argue with negotiations like that, _Sora_." She looked surprised that he had gotten it right. "Because I'm _nice_ and don't like to put people on the spot, I'll tell you again that my name is Tai. Now, apology, please."

She feigned disappointment. "I thought I had you there."

He moved his fingers in a beckoning motion, not willing to let it go. "Come on, I'm waiting."

She laughed, giving in. "Fine, I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"You're forgiven. So, _Sora_,"—he emphasised her name jokingly—"if you're done trying to prove that I'm an appalling human being, I have a question of my own. You came back after you got so angry with me about trying to hook you up with Matt. How come?"

"I thought I needed a ride," she said with a shrug. She laughed when he nodded knowingly, then explained, "It was a shady thing you did, but you know what? I realised you were just trying to help your friend out. Besides, if a girl is stupid enough to fall for your antics, maybe she deserves being tricked like that."

He chuckled, nodding slowly as he had half expected her to admit she had liked him. "Noted. Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." She stood up straight, twirling her car keys between her fingers. "Anyway, I should go. I need to help my friend decorate her place for tonight."

"Yeah, go ahead," he agreed. "It was nice running into you again."

She looked up at him, looking almost hesitant. "You know, you should come by her party tonight."

He winced, already knowing that his legitimate excuse sounded like a made-up one. "I can't. I really do have family visiting, and if I know them, they're not going to want to go out."

As expected, she didn't look like she believed him. "Do you really, or are you trying to let me down easily?"

"I swear," he said, holding up a palm. "Rain check?"

She smirked as she opened the front door to her car. "You give a lot of those, but all right. Just make sure you actually follow through and answer your mobile next time."

It took him a second to register that she was talking about the SMS she had sent him the night before. He had never responded to it.

"Sorry," he apologised, walking towards her as she sat down in the driver's seat. "I fell asleep right after I read it." She smirked, not believing that either. He grinned back. "That, and I don't like watching matches where the winner is so obvious from the beginning."

She didn't appear bothered that he had insulted her team again, continuing to smile at him. "I'll see you around, Tai."

She closed the door to her car, and he watched as she drove off, waving a hand in the air. He lowered it once she could no longer see him, then turned his heel to walk back to his flat across the street.

Huh, what were the odds of running into her again?

It was a shame Matt hadn't come along. He would have loved to see that.

He had almost made it home, stepping off the lift to his level when he heard the door beside his open. Out came Urara, his neighbour that he swore stalked him. She would always come out whenever he returned home. She used to do the same for Matt too, until she found out he had a girlfriend.

"Good morning," she greeted him in her high-pitched voice. He eyed her gear and nearly raised an eyebrow. For the first time since he met her, he saw that she was wearing workout clothes and trainers, looking ready to go on a run. Even her usually-immaculately styled hair was tied up in a high ponytail. When he had first met her, she had been blonde, but she had recently dyed her hair black, saying she wanted to put forth a more mature image. He didn't think it made her look more mature, just that she had black hair. On her hand was a leash, and a little white dog soon dashed out the door, joining them outside.

"Hey there, Princess," he said, leaning down to pet the fiercely barking dog. He used to hate the little shit, but once he got used to the incessant barking, he was okay with her. He picked her up, letting her lick his face in excitement. He turned back to Urara, scratching the dog's stomach as he spoke. "Going on a run?"

She nodded, sighing. "I'm trying to lose two kilos by the end of the year."

"You? No way."

She giggled and playfully hit his arm. Urara was too easy to flatter, but it helped that she was always fishing for compliments. She would reward him with gifts she would buy with her parents' money. Matt and Megumi thought he was a douche for doing this, but he thought she was just as bad. After all, she probably only liked them because she wanted to brag to her friends about knowing two older guys.

"So what are you and Matt doing tonight? Do you guys want to hang out?"

She was also persistent. He couldn't think of a single week that had gone by without her asking them to hang out, and he couldn't think of a single time in which he hadn't made a bogus excuse.

He set the dog back down when it got a little too eager. "Actually, Matt's a little sick today, so I'm going to have to decline."

"Oh no," she said worriedly, putting a hand to his arm. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nah, he just needs to rest. Anyway, I should go. I have to give him his drugs." He held up the pill bottle quickly, stuffing it back in his pocket before she could tell that it was only ibuprofen. "Have fun running."

"Oh, wait! Really quickly, have you asked your firm yet whether they're interested in me?"

A couple weeks back, Urara had asked him to help her get an interview at his company. He had told her he would try, but the reality was that he would never damage his credibility by doing that. Urara was suited more to be a professional socialite than a professional businesswoman.

"Yes, I did," he lied, pulling his best apologetic face. "Unfortunately, my boss said I wasn't allowed to do referrals, but you should try applying online."

She looked disappointed, pouting a little as she nodded her head slowly. "Ah, well, thanks anyway. You're such a sweetheart, Tai."

He nodded back as he headed towards the direction of his front door. "Of course, anytime."

* * *

"_I'll_ get it," Matt announced sarcastically when Tai didn't come out of his room. Annoyed by his flatmate's laziness, he wiped his hands on a towel and went to the front door, opening it to reveal his little brother, TK, and his wife, Kari. TK was holding a large ceramic dish, probably something Kari had prepared. Kari, on the other hand, carried a card box and a bottle of wine.

"Hello!" Kari greeted cheerily, giving him a hug as he took her belongings from her.

He heard the sound of a door opening from inside the flat.

"Is that my baby sister I hear?"

Matt rolled his eyes as Tai finally came out of his room, a big, stupid grin on his face. For some reason, he liked to think Kari was still eight years old. He leaned to give his sister a hug before giving TK a stern look. "TK."

His little brother, used to this, smiled in return. "Hey guys."

Tai was in fact a massive fan of TK. He just refused to show it in case TK ever got the idea to mistreat his sister. He liked to say it kept TK in line. Matt liked to say Tai was an idiot.

"What happened to your hand?" Kari asked Tai immediately, reaching out to grab it. "Why do you have a bandage around it?"

"It's just a couple cuts. No big deal," he said dismissively, ushering her in. "Aw, Kar, why did you bring food? I told you to only bring yourself!"

"Don't be silly. We only bought a cake from this cute bakery. Oh, and we made an aubergine casserole." Kari gestured to the dish TK was holding.

"And by that she means she made it. I watched," TK corrected.

"That's not true," she said, putting a hand to TK's cheek and rubbing it affectionately. "You helped."

"Yeah, yeah, that's enough of that," Tai said sharply, stepping between the two to take the casserole from TK's hands. "I'll set the table!"

"I _already_ set the table," Matt growled. He had called Tai to do it fifteen minutes ago, but he had ignored him.

"Right," Tai waved off. "What'd you make for dinner?"

"Mentaiko pasta."

Tai groaned loudly. "I wanted meat."

"Then you should have cooked," Matt shot back.

"I'm sure it'll be delicious, Tai," Kari soothed in her teacher voice, used to mediating between the two of them. "I'm just going to wash my hands really quickly, and then I can help with whatever still needs to be done."

"Take your time, take your time," Tai repeated as she left. "I'll put the casserole on the table."

"Take these too," Matt told him bossily as he held out the cake and wine. He didn't feel bad, considering this was the only helpful thing Tai had done so far. Tai glared at him but took them without a word.

They suddenly heard a loud gasp coming from the bathroom.

"Oh yeah, the mirror's broken!" Tai hollered unnecessarily

Kari peeked out of the bathroom with wide eyes. "What happened?"

"Matt's a lousy drunk," Tai explained simply before disappearing into the dining room.

Alone with his brother, TK looked over to Matt knowingly, quietly stating, "I'm sorry about Megumi."

Matt shrugged it off, feeling he had to at least play it cool in front of his brother. He didn't care if Tai saw him as a mess, but he didn't want his brother to think the break up was affecting him as much as it was.

One thing he noticed was that TK did not say the infuriating "you'll find someone better" lie everyone else had said to him.

TK probably understood him better. He was very much like him in that he and Kari had only ever been with each other. They had even started dating at an earlier age than he and Megumi had. If they were to ever break up—and Matt seriously doubted they ever would—he knew TK wouldn't want to hear those words either.

There was one major difference between him and TK, however. After graduating uni and finding jobs in their respective careers, TK had asked Kari to marry him.

As a result of watching his parents' relationship and his family deteriorate due to marriage, Matt never wanted it for himself. It had been the one tremendous rift in his relationship with Megumi, as she had refused to understand him.

In hindsight, he wondered if he letting go of his hatred and doubt in it could have helped sway her to stay, though it was too late to do anything about it now.

He turned to his brother, smiling a little to make it look like he was fine. "Come on, let's go help Tai before he breaks something."

* * *

This was probably the first time in a week that Matt had eaten at the dining table. Nowadays, he preferred to eat in the sitting room with the telly on to distract him. Tai got off work later than he did, so he was usually home alone for an hour before Tai showed up. He used this time to make dinner. Sometimes, if he felt nice, he'd make enough food for him too. Tai was actually a fairly decent cook. He just had an affinity for being lazy.

Dinner went well. The mentaiko pasta was good, as was Kari's casserole. So was the wine, but he noticed that he was the only person who had finished his glass. Tai, who didn't like wine, had barely drunk his, TK had only had about half his glass and Kari had yet to touch hers. It felt unfitting to drink more when nobody else was—not to mention his recent track record with alcohol hadn't been ideal—so even though he could really use another, he decided to limit himself to one.

"Oh, Tai," Kari said suddenly as they were eating the cake she and TK had bought. "Mum wanted me to tell you that you're getting older."

Tai rolled his eyes, sarcastically muttering, "Tell Mum thank you for the helpful reminder. I had forgotten that people age."

Kari shrugged. "She just asked me to tell you. She says you're ignoring her calls."

"That's because she rings me in the middle of work, and then I forget about it by the time I get off. Besides, now I _know_ it wasn't important, because she was only ringing me to tell me that people get older."

"Well, I just think you're hurting her feelings."

Tai leaned back in his seat in defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll ring her tomorrow." He sat up again. "Anyway, enough about Mum. This was a good idea, Kar. We should do these family get-togethers more often."

She beamed at him, then glanced at TK, who nodded once.

"Actually, we have something to tell you guys," Kari said as TK slipped his hand over hers.

Matt held a breath. The atmosphere was strange, and he felt like he already knew what was coming.

"I'm pregnant!"

Matt exhaled, while Tai's jaw dropped.

"You're _pregnant_?!"

Kari nodded giddily at her brother, while TK flinched. "It's twelve weeks now! We wanted to tell you guys sooner, but I didn't want to jinx it. We've already told our parents, and they're over the moon!"

"You're _pregnant_?!" Tai repeated loudly, not having listened to a word his sister had just said. "Was it _planned_?!"

The excitement in Kari's face faded.

"Yes, actually, it was," she said with a disheartened frown. "I thought you would be happy."

"Congratulations!" Matt spoke up as enthusiastically as he could. "Of course we're happy for you two, _aren't we, Tai_?"

He had said the last part warningly. Tai downed the rest of his wine, then stood up, nodding dazedly.

"Yeah, congratulations," Tai managed to say before he took Kari's untouched wine glass and poured the contents down his throat too. "TK, come here."

For a split second, he was worried for his little brother, but Tai merely patted him on his back, congratulating him numbly. He then sat down, looking out of it.

"Tell us everything," Matt said, knowing it was enough of a starter to get them to talk. He kept his smile in place as TK and Kari started to discuss their future plans with them. Since Tai was obviously making no effort, he felt he had to.

Still, this was not how he had envisioned it. TK was his _younger_ brother, and he couldn't help but think that as the older sibling, he should have been the first to give his parents grandchildren.

He was supposed to be ecstatic for his brother—and he was—but he also found himself comparing. While TK was happily married with a baby on the way, he was recently dumped with no future in sight.

Tai, having drunk his third glass of wine, finally spoke up. "TK, if you don't make her as comfortable as possible in the next six months, I'll kill you."

Matt shot him an annoyed look. TK, having been with Kari for the last eleven years, had grown used to having his life threatened on a regular basis. Tai never really acted on it, except for the time when he wanted to have a drink with TK man-to-man, claiming it was for bonding purposes. It was a disaster from the start as it was between Tai, a person whose liver surprised Matt for continuing to function and TK, a person who barely had any sort of alcohol tolerance. His brother spent the night hugging the toilet, and Kari made Tai promise never to do anything like that again.

"Don't worry about TK, Tai. I'm sure he'll be perfect," Kari assured, beaming at her husband. TK smiled back at her, risking a kiss to her temple in front of her madman of a brother.

Matt felt an odd sort of jealousy towards TK that he had never felt before. Perhaps it was because he was now single, but he almost felt disappointment to see his brother so happy. He wondered if that made him a bad person. At the very least, he knew he was being incredibly selfish, as this was not the time where he should be thinking about himself.

Matt, taking a note from Tai's book, poured himself more wine. He emptied the bottle, filling his glass nearly to the rim. Tai immediately left the room and brought out Scotch Matt didn't know he had.

For the next hour, they congratulated TK and Kari and took turns touching her flat stomach. They asked them questions he thought he wouldn't be asking his little brother for years. Was someone going to take time off to take care of the baby? Did they want a boy or girl? Had they thought of names? Did they want more?

It was surreal. He could still remember TK crying because of monsters underneath his bed, sobbing that the nightlight had no effect in scaring them away. That little kid was going to be a father.

Tai seemed to harbour similar feelings, as he was definitely not contributing as much to the conversation as Matt was, and he was supposed to be the talkative one.

When Kari yawned, Tai diagnosed it as pregnancy fatigue and demanded TK to put her to bed at once. As the two got ready to leave, Tai promised that he would make his assistant ship them every pregnancy and parenting book known to man on Monday.

Tai had a habit of using his assistant to do menial tasks that had nothing whatsoever to do with her duties at the firm, like the time he had made her stand in line for nine hours to buy a newly-released videogame that he had anticipated would sell out by the time he got off work. His excuse was that he was able to focus more on business matters knowing certain personal issues were being taken care of.

"I'm going to kill TK," Tai said blankly once they were gone. "I can't believe he impregnated my sister." He sat back down on the couch and drank straight from his bottle of Scotch, like they had when they were uni students and had no clean cups to use. He held the bottle out to Matt. "Want some?"

Then again, he didn't care either. He snatched the bottle from Tai's grasp and poured the liquor into his mouth, then lit a cigarette now that his brother had gone.

"You could have made it less obvious that you weren't happy about it, you know," Matt scolded, settling himself into the adjacent chair. "Your sister was really excited."

"I mean, I am happy for her… I am. I just…" Tai took another swig from the bottle, drinking it like it was water. It always surprised Matt how easily Tai could drink. "I can't believe they're so _settled_."

He nodded in agreement.

"And look at us!" Tai continued, using the bottle to point at Matt and then at himself.

Even though Tai had worded it that way, he knew what he was trying to say. They had reached that age where they no longer felt like they belonged in the young adult category, even if they were. All around them, friends were settling down, getting married and having children, becoming the adults that they didn't think they'd have to be for a while. To have their younger siblings reach that same sort of path, at least for Matt, came as a swift reality check.

"Aren't you the one who likes being a bachelor?"

"Yeah, but not when my baby sister is having your dumbass brother's child!"

He let the insult slide, half because he knew Tai didn't really mean it, half because he was beginning to feel the alcohol.

"Maybe I should settle down soon."

Matt rolled his eyes. Quarter-Life Crisis Tai struck again. He went through these every once in a while, usually after a few drinks. It would last until the next morning, when Tai would brush it off as crazy talk.

"Shut up," Matt shot down immediately.

"I'm serious."

He rolled his eyes again. "Fine. Go settle down, and tomorrow morning when you regret it, don't complain to me."

Tai looked annoyed. "I could do it, you know. Just because I wasn't with the same girl for a million years doesn't mean I'm not as capable."

"Yes, it does. You'll go crazy in a month, like you always do."

"Hey!" Tai barked defensively. "I am not a slut."

He didn't even bother to refute him. Tai was such an idiot. He always denied that he slept around, even though that was precisely what he did. Tai liked to justify himself a lot, and Matt knew better than to argue with his wrong opinion, especially when he had alcohol in his system.

Tai downed the rest of his Scotch, then stumbled up, looking depressed. "All right. I'm going to bed early."

"What about the dishes?" Matt asked irritably. They had made an agreement that Matt would cook tonight if it meant Tai would clean up afterwards.

"I'll do them tomorrow," he muttered, already shuffling to his room.

Matt looked at the direction of the kitchen, debating with himself whether he should do them himself. People often assumed that Tai was the messier of the two, but they were wrong. Tai was more unorganised than he was, but having lived with just his dad for the first eighteen years of his life, the dirty dishes were going to bother Tai before they bothered him. Concluding that he was too lazy, he too headed to his room to call it a night.

* * *

He remembered once when he was in primary school, his teacher gave him an assignment to write down how he envisioned his future. As he sat at his desk at home, forced to do homework instead of playing outside with his friends, he quickly wrote that he wanted to be a famous footballer. He drew a stick figure kicking a football into a goal, and then he went outside to play.

His sister, who he had shared a room with at the time, always wanted to be just like him, so she decided she wanted to do the same assignment out of her own free will. While he had spent a grand total of five minutes on his actual homework he would be graded on, Kari spent the majority of her afternoon planning her future. She showed it to their mother, and their parents had had a good laugh about it. It had been organized to the age. She would go to uni after school, then become a teacher. She was going to get married and have two children, the first a boy and the second a girl, just like her own family.

If that had been the definitive schedule of her life, she was pretty spot-on. That's the way Kari was. She knew what she wanted and pursued it, always succeeding. He had used to think he was the same, but he paled in comparison to her. Her self-assigned paper was much more detailed than his own, yet she had so far kept right on track with every point. She had only been eight when she wrote it, yet she was following that life plan to a tee. His only had one vision, and being a professional footballer definitely hadn't worked out.

He _was_ happy for her. He was extraordinarily proud of his baby sister's achievements, and even though a part of him still saw a child when he looked at her, he knew she would make a great mother. He also knew TK would make a great father since he already was an ideal husband. He remembered when Kari first told her family that she had a boyfriend. She had been thirteen, and he had been completely against it. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust her as much as it was that he didn't trust guys in general. He was sixteen at the time, well at the age when hormones had started to kick in. He knew what he and his friends did during their weekends, and the thought of some guy manipulating his sister drove him insane. His parents had told him to stop being dramatic, telling him in private later that she was very young and in a phase she would soon grow out of.

Fast-forward eleven years.

Their parents were probably ecstatic, especially their mother. As his mum once told him in half seriousness, Kari was their only hope since it was obvious he would never give them grandchildren. While he understood her intentions, his mother went a little overboard with the constant reminders that he was always single. She hated it, and she even went so far as to sending him passive-aggressive letters to his work email. So-and-so's doctor son just got engaged to a lawyer. She ran into his old classmate's mother the other day, and she had found his old acquaintance he hadn't talked to in over a decade was now expecting his first child; wasn't that lovely? The unscientific online article detailing the direct effect of a loving wife and a happy future. Every time she sent him one of those, he would remind her that the IT guy could see his work emails if he wanted to. It would do little to stop her from sending another.

He could already imagine the party his mother would inevitably throw in celebration of Kari's pregnancy. Half the time, his relatives and parents' friends would congratulate Kari. The other half would be spent prodding him with questions of his own future. He was the firstborn. More importantly, he was the son.

It wasn't his fault he loved being single. He had lived with Matt since they were eighteen and saw what a serious girlfriend did to a person. Matt liked to be bored at home. He didn't mind having to step out of a party to talk to his girlfriend—a party he would have to tell his girlfriend he was going to beforehand. He had to update her constantly with details of where he was, and if his mobile died, he would have to borrow Tai's, just in case. He had to wait on her, had to always get her permission, had to always get her approval, had to always think of her wellbeing on top of his own.

Perhaps Matt could live like that, but he just wasn't that kind of person. He hated having any part of him, however small, be bound to somebody else. His freedom and independence were two things he valued very much.

But still. He was twenty-seven. He couldn't consider himself old, but he wasn't that young either.

Whatever this feeling was, he hated it. He didn't think it was loneliness, but he wanted company.

Eyes still on the ceiling, he stretched his arm to feel around for his mobile. His fingers acted on their own, scrolling down his contact list to a familiar name.

Sonoka Umeki.

She was the sister of Matt's friend. He had met her at a party, where she decided approximately five seconds into meeting him she was in love with him. He almost couldn't stand her, but it didn't stop him from ringing her whenever he struck out elsewhere. He and Matt had made a verbal agreement. Matt wouldn't tell his friend that he was stringing along his sister, as long as Tai didn't complain about how crazy she was afterwards.

A part of him knew he was a jerk to her, but it wasn't his fault. She was the one who kept coming to him, and if she would rather see him once every few months instead of never, he wasn't going to deny her of that.

He was about to invite her over when he saw the name underneath hers.

Sora, no last name. The girl from the bar and convenience store.

He was about to add her to his "Don't Answer" group in his mobile as he did with all the other random numbers he had, but then he decided he had no reason to do so. Even though he did not know her very well, he had to admit that she had left a positive impression. For one thing, she had probably been a little too nice to him last night when he had tried to trick her, but she also hadn't minded talking to him today either. She could have easily pretended not to see him, but she struck up a cordial conversation. He liked that. She seemed like a cool girl, and she had given him obvious signs that she was interested in him, despite her suspicions about his character.

She probably wouldn't be nearly as easy as Sonoka, but his finger brushed past Sonoka's name to hers anyway. He drafted a new message, deleting and modifying it several times until he settled on something simple.

_Having fun at your party?_

He waited five minutes in silence for an answer, but it never came. He suddenly regretted his message, thinking he should have written something else. Maybe something witty so he wouldn't come across so lame.

Slightly disappointed, he scrolled to Sonoka's number again and began typing.

_I can't stop thinking about you. Come over._

She had to know it was so obviously untrue, but it would be enough for her anyway.

Indeed, within seconds, she had messaged him back, confirming that she would be over soon.

Somewhat content, he tossed his mobile on his bed and closed his eyes. He'd take a small nap before her arrival.

His mobile beeped again, and he checked it, expecting it to be Sonoka asking if he needed anything.

_It's fun, but I'm worried it's starting to get a little out of hand. How's your family?_

It was Sora. He rolled over to his side to reposition himself, his mood uplifted.

He wrote a reply, then stared at the screen until she responded too. This went on back and forth for a few minutes, she making him laugh with updates about how her friend's friends were slowly destroying the flat. It was strange. He barely knew her, but he found a level of comfort above a person he had met this time yesterday, even if it was only through SMS.

_You should have come._

He smiled subconsciously as he read it.

_I know. I regret it. Invite me to the next one._

She took longer to respond this time. It wasn't that he was counting the minutes, but it'd be a lie to say he didn't start getting a little unnerved when she didn't reply right away.

_Come now. Your family's gone, right?_

He was about to accept her offer, but he groaned as he remembered Sonoka. As little as she meant to him, it was beyond his moral measures to turn her home when she was already on her way.

Not wanting Sora to think he was sketchy, he lied.

_I can't. Flatmate._ After he pressed send, he quickly wrote another. _Maybe we can do something next weekend instead?_

She took even longer to respond this time, and he felt quite anxious to open her message when it finally came. He almost anticipated rejection.

_What do you have in mind?_

He was slightly relieved before he realised that it felt a little lame to ask her out via SMS. Instead of typing an answer, he opted to call her instead.

She answered within a couple rings, but all he could hear was loud music and people yelling in the background.

Right. He had forgotten that she was at a party.

"I can call you back!" he said loudly into his mobile.

"What?!" he heard Matt yell back from across the hall.

"Not you!"

Sora was saying something to him, but he couldn't decipher what it was through the loudness of the party. He was only able to make out a "wait!", so he did. Soon, he heard a closing door, followed by silence.

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "I'm outside now."

He sat up in his bed, shaking his head though she couldn't see it. "No, it was my mistake. Sounds like your party's a hit."

"All I can think about is how long it's going to take to clean it up tomorrow, and it isn't even my flat," she said with a laugh. "Anyway, what did you need to say that warranted a ring?"

He chuckled. "I just didn't want to be the guy who asks you out over SMS."

A pause.

"You're asking me out?"

Her tone sounded curious more than anything else, but he felt anxiety and panic set in. "Unless you have a boyfriend or something."

The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He was almost positive that she didn't, considering how much she had flirted with him the night before, but it wasn't like it was an absolute certainty.

"You aren't asking me out for your friend, are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Er, no," he said, confused. "I meant with me."

"Oh…"

She dragged out the word, which was never a good sign.

"Unless you want to go out with him, because he'd love to," Tai lied, knowing Matt would only murder him for signing him up on a date.

"No, it's not that. I just… Last night… I wasn't sure… You were trying so hard… And—Actually, never mind. I don't know what I'm trying to say. Sorry, I'd love to."

"Great!" he agreed, trying to turn a blind eye to her awkward stuttering. "How's next Saturday?"

Another pause. He was beginning to sense a theme.

"Saturday's fine with me," she answered finally, "but can I count on you? You seem flaky."

A little taken aback by her bold statement, he joked, "You know, you're really good at insulting people. I've not known you for more than 24 hours, yet you've already managed to label me as a lying, sketchy, flaky bloke."

She laughed with him. "It's not my fault. That's how you've come across since I met you."

"I guess that's the kind of guy you go for then," he countered, "since you are agreeing to go out with me and all."

She didn't answer verbally, but he could imagine her smiling on the other line.

"Anyway, I guess I'll just have to change your opinion of me on Saturday, because you've got me all wrong."

"You can try," she quipped.

He heard the doorbell ring, signifying that Sonoka had come. What timing she had, he thought sarcastically.

"Is that for you?!" he heard Matt yell from his room.

And since when the hell was Matt so damn loud?

He quickly got off his bed, hoping Sora hadn't heard either the doorbell or Matt's voice. "Hey, er, I have to go. Matt just got back, so I have to let him in." He hoped she didn't see the obvious flaw in that statement, given that it was doubtful Matt didn't have his own copy of the house keys. "I'll call you later with details, okay?"

She didn't question him. "All right. I'll talk to you then."

"Good night. Have fun at your party!"

He hurriedly hung up right in time for Sonoka's call.

Irked by her impatience, he answered it with a frown.

"I'm outside," she said, in case her annoying use of the doorbell at midnight hadn't already alerted him.

"I heard. I'll be right there."

He tossed his mobile on his bed before leaving his room. As he turned on the hallway light, the door to Matt's room opened slightly, and his flatmate stuck his head out. "Who is that?"

"Sonoka," he answered matter-of-factly.

Matt rolled his eyes and closed his door without a verbal comment, though the condemning look he gave him said plenty. While he and Megumi judged him for Rie and Urara, they judged him for Sonoka most of all. Even he had to admit it was judgment well deserved, though it did little to stop him.

He turned on the light to the sitting room too before answering the door to reveal Sonoka, looking as happy to see him as she always did. It was weird because he always forgot what she looked like when he tried to picture her in his mind, yet she always looked the same when he saw her again. She had a pretty face, but it was an unremarkable sort of pretty. It wasn't the kind of beauty that stood out in a crowd, so perhaps a better way to put it was that she was not unattractive.

Everything about her was grey and boring, right down to her appearance. Her light brown hair had an ashy tinge, as did her blue-grey eyes. She was of an average height, maybe shorter, and her body went straight down. One time when he had been in a particularly foul mood, he had told her in jest that he couldn't tell the difference between her front and back. As she always did, she took the insult. It would make him feel bad, but he supposed he got over it quickly because he would still continue to say things like that to her.

Even now, she was dressed in light grey jeans and a dark grey jumper that hid her figure. He was not the kind of person who noticed fashion or clothes, but for some reason he was always able to see how plainly Sonoka dressed. Nothing about her was memorable. She was just ordinary, one of a million others that could easily be drowned in a sea of conformity.

"Long time no see," he greeted her, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Two months now, right?" She looked around his flat as he closed the door for her and lowered her voice. "Is Matt here? People are saying he and his girlfriend broke up."

"He's asleep," he said, choosing not to delve into Matt's personal life with her. "Do you want anything to drink?"

She obliged and followed him into the kitchen, where he went into the pantry to dig around for the bottle of wine he had hidden there from Matt. He wasn't really a wine person, but girls were, so he always kept one around. He took out two wineglasses and poured, letting her choose which of the two she wanted.

"Cheers," he said, tipping his glass to her.

She giggled and clinked her glass against his, then gasped. "What happened to your hand?"

"A little accident," he said, brushing it off for the third time that day. It was different with Sonoka though. He knew he could use it to his advantage with her.

She furrowed her brows, setting her glass down so she could take his hand in both of hers. "Does it hurt?"

It was times like this when she looked so concerned for his wellbeing that made him uneasy, knowing that he would never reciprocate that same level of concern. One time, he had made her take care of him when he was ill because he liked the porridge and tea she made. She ended up catching his bug, and he only sent her a short SMS to wish her well. Even he had to admit that had been a little much.

"Kind of," he lied. "I just have it on because I don't want to touch anything with an open wound." He gestured towards his sink, piled high with dishes from dinner. "That's why I didn't do those yet."

She looked at him piteously. "You poor thing. Here, let me help you with them."

This was the offer he had been expecting, and it was precisely due to this sort of thing that turned him off from her so much. She was too easy. She gave him everything he wanted.

He took her by the waist, pulling her to him. "No way. I couldn't ask that of you."

"Tai, I insist. You're hurt."

He pretended to argue a little bit more before giving in like there was nothing he could do about it. He thanked her with a peck to her lips, and she rolled her sleeves up before turning the water on to the sink.

"You're the best," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she started to wash a plate.

At first she didn't say anything, but then he saw the corners of her lips curve into a small, defeated smile. "Is this why you called me? Because you had dirty dishes?"

This was something Sonoka did often. She would question him, but telling her what she wanted to hear was more than enough to satisfy her.

He trailed kisses down her neck and shoulder, nipping at her flesh. "Of course not, babe. I called you because I missed you."

"If you missed me, then why haven't you kept in touch?"

"I've been busy."

She glanced at him, catching his eye. "You're always busy."

He pressed his lips against her ear. "I can't help it. I'll make it up to you."

She nodded understandingly, then went back to what he had said to her earlier. "I've missed you too." She turned her head to the side, reaching upwards to give him a kiss. He barely kissed back, not wanting to distract her until she was done with his chore. When she turned her attention back to the dishes, she started talking to him again. "If you want to make it up to me, let's go to the cinema tomorrow."

He automatically made up an excuse. "I can't. I have to go to Odaiba tomorrow to see Kari. Rain check?"

While she didn't look at him, he saw another disappointed smile rise on her face. "Another one of your infamous rain checks that never have a follow-up date."

"Come on, don't be like that," he pleaded, kissing back up her shoulder and neck. "I want to go, honest. You can come with me to Odaiba if you want and help me move some furniture."

She didn't respond to his joke, silent as she finished washing his remaining dishes, even drying them for him and putting them away in their designated cupboards.

"Do you like me?" she asked finally, staring at him fixedly. "I'm asking you because I can't tell."

"I wouldn't hang out with you if I hated you," he answered vaguely.

"Then why don't I ever get to be with you?"

"You get to be with me now," he pointed out.

She looked saddened by his answers, but she accepted them as she drank her wine.

He knew he could have been nicer to her, but by never being too nice, it let him believe that he was doing her a favour. In spite of the things he said to lure her, he hoped that through his actions she could tell that he didn't really like her.

He knew the better thing to do was cut her off, but he couldn't help it. As much of a jerk as it made him, he liked having this sort of convenient backup.

He asked her if she wanted another when she finished her wine, and she declined. He took the glass from her hand, setting it by his before he leaned down to kiss her once more. She didn't fight him, letting him do as he pleased, helping him at times until she eventually allowed him to lead her in the direction of his bedroom to do what he had invited her for. Occasionally, he would tell her how beautiful she was or how much he had missed her, just so she wouldn't feel so used, but by the end, he turned his back to her, wanting to make it easier for her to leave in the morning.

Easy. It was just too easy.


	4. Chapter 4: At Least I Still Have You

I'm thinking about changing the category for this from Tai/Sora to Tai/Matt like I had originally wanted. This is because this story focuses more on Tai and Matt as characters as opposed to the romantic development of Tai and Sora, but based on the reviews I have received, it seems like people are expecting the latter. Sora is definitely an important character in this story, but she is only important with respect to Tai. She is without a doubt secondary to Matt, and I don't want people to be disappointed if I cheat Taiora of events usually seen in romantic fics.

Nevertheless, a million thanks to all readers and reviewers!

**Paradigm Shift  
Chapter 4: At Least I Still Have You**

Matt sighed as he turned on the telly, changing it to his father's channel out of habit. He rarely watched television anymore, but when he did, he would always start there. He settled into the couch, holding in his hands a new carton of cigarettes he had just bought at the convenience store, where the young student who always worked there had unsuccessfully tried her best not to judge him. He wasn't addicted, so it wasn't like he was going to smoke all of them. It was just that he had determined at the shop that buying in bulk was a better deal than buying one at a time.

He took one pack out the box and set the rest behind the couch so Tai couldn't see them if he decided to come into the sitting room.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap._

Pounding the cigarette pack against his palm, his eyes barely paid attention to the variety programme he had just turned on. He had never really found them all that entertaining, but he supposed the constant noise made for a good distraction. He withdrew a stick from the box, putting it between his lips as his hands searched his pocket for his lighter. It wasn't there.

"Did you take my lighter?" Matt asked loudly into the empty room, hoping his voice would carry over to Tai.

"Why the hell would I have your lighter?" Tai answered back from his bedroom.

Because Tai was annoying enough to where he'd take it just to piss him off, that's why. Still, Matt gave his flatmate the benefit of the doubt and went into his room in search of it. He couldn't find it anywhere. He checked his bedside stand, under his pillows and sheets, on his desk, in his desk drawers, under his desk, by the windowsill—where was it?—under his bed, under his sheets one more time. Nothing. He went back into the sitting room in case he had just overlooked it being somewhere obvious, like the coffee table. No such luck. He kneeled on the floor, using his hands to push through couch cushions, and, when that proved unyielding, he lied down, closing one eye to check underneath the couch.

Still nothing.

He checked the coffee table once more, running his hands against the surface even though it was clearly not there. He checked his pockets again, just in case. He checked the balcony, the dining room he hadn't entered all day, the kitchen, the broom closet, outside his front door.

Where the hell was his lighter?!

He knew he could stop smoking if he wanted to, but knowing that he in that very moment could not smoke one made him crave a cigarette like he had never craved one before.

Just as he was about to head back to the convenience store to buy another one, an idea sparked in his head. He dashed to the kitchen. Gas stove. He turned it on and placed his cigarette by the low fire, successfully lighting it after a few seconds. Quite pleased with his reasoning, he rewarded himself with a long drag, sighing contently as he exhaled.

"Not addicted, huh?"

Matt turned around to see Tai judging him from the hallway, but he automatically disregarded his sarcasm. "I can stop if I want to."

"You're using the damn stove to light your cigarette. That's called an addiction, dumbass. And smoke outside!"

"Where are you going?" he asked, knowing very well that Tai hated when he changed the subject to avoid commenting. He didn't know why Tai kept telling him to smoke outside though, because they both knew he wasn't going to do it.

Tonight, Tai didn't make an irritated remark, simply looking down at his changed attire. He had gone from his usual t-shirt and shorts combination to a button-down and smart trousers.

"Out," Tai answered vaguely before turning around to leave the kitchen.

Perhaps it was due to the previous weekend's events, but Matt noticed that Tai had not invited-slash-forced him out for the evening. Matt was thankful for this.

He followed Tai out of the kitchen, watching as his flatmate made his way to the door to put on his shoes. "Are you coming back tonight?"

Tai shrugged. "Maybe."

Matt rolled his eyes. "That means no. Are you off to ruin Sonoka's life again?"

He still couldn't believe Tai had invited her over last weekend. After that whole spiel of wanting to settle down, it was not even an hour later that Sonoka, Tai's definition of disposable, had appeared at their doorstep. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to criticise her or pity her, but he supposed he leaned towards the latter. What Tai said about her and what Tai said to her were two very different things, and all it took was a little bit of boredom from Tai's side to start things up again.

Tai ignored him, taking his keys from the hook by the door. "See you."

Once Tai had rushed out, Matt was alone in their flat. He usually didn't mind being by himself, but for some reason it hit him that it was a Saturday night, and he would be spending it like this. It wasn't even that he necessarily wanted to go out. It was that he was doing nothing with nobody.

Now that he wasn't with Megumi, it had become evident that he didn't really have many friends. He had been able to juggle a girlfriend and his other friends throughout school and uni, but that changed when he got a job and his free time drastically reduced. He and Megumi spent nearly everyday with each other, and often he would cancel plans he had with other people to make room for her. She used to do the same for him…

He missed her.

He forgot what he had originally been thinking about, if he had been thinking of anything particularly different at all.

He wondered how she was. Was she dead? Was that why she still hadn't rang him? Surely, her family would have informed him if something that tragic had happened to her. Right? Even if they weren't together anymore, it didn't mean she could erase him just like that. Right? She still thought of him. Right?

Right?

Right?!

Right. She wouldn't do that to him. He knew her, and she couldn't even if she wanted.

He could hear his mobile ringing faintly, and he jolted up in an instant and made a mad sprint for his room. Finally, finally, _finally_—

Throwing open the door, he ran to his bed and snatched his mobile from it. His excitement faded as quickly as it had come, seeing the name flashing on the screen. It wasn't her, just an old friend of his. Massively disappointed, he almost just set it back down, but then he found that he suddenly, secretly hoped that his mate had called to ask him to do something—_anything_ to distract him from going mad.

He put his mobile up to his ear, the first time he had answered a phone call in two weeks.

"Hello?"

* * *

He and Sora had been talking all week, mostly through SMS. He had asked her out a week ago, during a time he had felt emotionally compelled due to news of his sister's pregnancy. That gave him seven days to come up with an excuse to back out of this date.

It surprised him that he did not.

To say he was not a fan of dating would be accurate. Casually meeting up sometimes was one thing. He could do that easily, but he hated the formal concept of dating. Dating led to relationships, and he had never liked being a part of those.

It wasn't that he thought relationships were stupid. He couldn't imagine his sister without her husband, and up until recently, he had thought the same of Matt and Megumi. People like them thrived as a couple, especially evident after Matt's abysmal transformation following his breakup. He, on the other hand, didn't think he was made for it. He found the idea of being labelled as one-half of something insufferably suffocating.

Nevertheless, contrary to what his friends thought of him, he was not a deranged person who found joy in breaking women's hearts. What bothered him was that he never asked for them in the first place. It didn't matter how obvious he made it. He could never call them back, never pay for a single meal or blatantly hit on other women in front of their faces. It didn't matter, because they'd still claim he led them on. Every time he got involved with a girl, no matter how many defensive barriers he put up in advance, something would go wrong. No strings attached never meant no strings attached. Friends with benefits was always a bad idea. Casual dating only lasted so long.

So, he didn't date.

He could see himself settle down in the future maybe. Perhaps when he hit thirty.

But for now? No way. It was a waste of his youth.

That being said, he did not back out on his date with Sora. He had definitely thought about it, even drafting an SMS telling of his sudden change of schedule. He scrapped the message when his mother decided at the same moment to ring him. The next half hour was spent listening to how proud his mother was of Kari.

In the end, he decided to keep his date with Sora because to cancel would be to get ahead of himself. It was just one date, and even if he didn't really know her, Sora seemed like a cool girl.

She gave him another reason to continue on with the evening when she came out of her flat wearing a black body-con dress that clung to her silhouette perfectly. He probably stared at it a second too long, but if she noticed, she didn't show it. Not wanting to risk being labelled as a pervert, he made a conscious effort to keep his eyes on her face.

But really. If girls wore things like that, they were practically wearing a sign to tell men to stare at them.

"Am I too formal?" she asked, drawing his attention back to the dress just as he had successfully shifted it to her face. "I wasn't sure what the dress code was, but I can put on something else if it is."

There was no way around it. She was much too formal for the semi-casual restaurant where he had made reservations.

But he definitely didn't want her to change.

"No, you look great."

This was his own fault anyway. She had asked him what kind of restaurant they were going to earlier that day, and he had jokingly said the finest in all of Japan. He had attached an "lol" to the message to indicate that it was a joke, but evidently that hadn't been enough.

"Just give me one more minute," she said apologetically, opening the door further to let him inside.

"No problem. I'm a little early."

He hadn't meant to be. He had just ran out the door before Matt could question him about where he was going.

She led him to the sitting room, showing him her couch before leaving for her room to finish getting ready.

He used this moment to quickly send an SMS to his assistant, telling her to make a reservation for two at any posh restaurant for 8.00pm and give him a confirmation and an address within the next sixty seconds.

His assistant, bless her heart, always moved heaven and earth for him. He wondered if she secretly despised him for always giving her outrageous tasks like these—on a Saturday night no less, but as expected, she came through. Within minutes, she sent him the information of a new restaurant and an apology for taking so long.

That took care of the location problem. Now to do something about his appearance.

While his current outfit might earn him a few questioning looks, he was glad that he had an extra suit in the car. He always kept one there, just in case he had any sort of accident at work. The suit jacket would go with his current trousers, giving the illusion that he had purposely worn them together.

Dilemma avoided, Sora reappeared, now wearing a long jacket that regrettably hid that incredible dress, though he supposed that was a good thing for his misbehaving eyes.

He stood up, grinning at her. "Ready?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

_"Congratulations."_

_First TK's news, now this._

_"I know! Can you believe it?!"_

_Were people timing these?_

* * *

He had been to restaurants this high-class before, but they were always for business as opposed to dates. Chandeliers lit the ceiling and artistically carved mahogany panels streamlined the perimeter. White tablecloths adorned the tables and chairs, each arrangement decorated with a sprig of flowers and a tea candle floating in a water-filled vase. Every person appeared to have dressed in his or her best clothes, and though he supposed he did look the part, this stiff environment wasn't him. He felt out of place here, but when he glanced over at the tranquil Sora who seemed so unaffected, he too chose to play it cool. Seeing her appear so composed made him wonder if men took her to these kind of restaurants all the time.

If that was the case, he was glad he had changed the venue. It would have been a little embarrassing had she been used to this kind of atmosphere and he took her somewhere below its status. Oddly, this hadn't been the impression he had gotten of her, though he supposed that despite his level of comfort with her, she was but a stranger.

So, he tried to get to know her better.

Despite talking back and forth through SMS for a week, it hit him that he didn't know anything about her. He knew that her co-worker had gotten scolded in front of everyone on Tuesday, she knew that he had accidentally broken a plate but blamed it on an inebriated Matt on Wednesday, but these were just trivial, passing events. Neither knew the other, to the point that they didn't even know each other's surnames.

He found out that night that it was Takenouchi. Sora Takenouchi.

She was born and raised in Kyoto but moved to Tokyo after uni to start anew. She mentioned having to learn to speak in a Tokyo dialect, and he had excitedly pestered her until she showed him her native accent. He laughed, finding it both funny and charming, but she switched back after a few sentences.

She was his age, and she worked for an organisation that aimed to preserve and raise awareness for Japanese culture, in which she was on the fashion team that designed traditional clothing. He felt a little apprehensive to say that he worked at Mitsubishi Corporation once she told him that, as it was essentially the opposite of traditional Japanese ideals.

However, her lips formed a small 'o' as he told her. "Wow, Mitsubishi. You must be quite the smart one."

"Not at all," he immediately denied, chuckling because it wasn't an adjective many people used to describe him. "That isn't even me being modest. I just got a lucky break."

"Still, it's impressive."

He shook his head at her. He was not one to deflect compliments, but he felt like once people knew what he did for a living, they formed an opinion of him that was entirely untrue. "Don't be impressed. It's just another boring office job, and it isn't what I want to do."

"What do you want to do?"

He noticed that no matter what he said, she always seemed interested to listen to it. He recognised the face because it was an expression he faked often, though a small part of him hoped hers was genuine.

"Ideally, I'd love to work for the UN one day, but we'll see."

Applying for Mitsubishi had been his parents' idea, and he had only started working there because they had been so proud of him for getting an offer. It was only supposed to be for a couple years to save up money and gain a little experience, but with the continuous promotions and raises, it had already been five years. He was thinking about applying to the OECD soon, though he thought his mother would die not being able to brag about having a son who worked at Mitsubishi anymore.

That, and he had to admit that he had grown accustomed to a certain standard of living that he knew would downgrade once he left, at least as far as consumerism was concerned.

"I bet you could do it. Smart little boy like you," Sora teased, taking a sip of her wine.

He rolled his eyes at the comment. Once they had disclosed their birthdays earlier that evening, it had become evident that she had been born before him. "For the last time, we were born in the same year. We're the same age."

"Yes, but I was born in March, ergo I am older than you," she reminded him with a small smirk. "You know, I don't usually go for younger guys."

"That's interesting. Too bad it's irrelevant because we're the same age."

She set her glass back down and looked around the restaurant, lowering her voice a notch. "But I have to admit you don't really strike me as the kind of guy who would like this kind of place. I was kind of expecting something casual until you told me it wouldn't be."

He chuckled quietly, debating whether he should tell her the truth. "Well then, I'll tell you a little secret."

He admitted to her what had happened, how he had only been kidding, forgetting that she couldn't read his joking tone via SMS, how he had to make a last-minute reservation in her sitting room, not wanting to admit everything to her when she was already expecting somewhere fancy.

She burst into laughter, and he almost expected her to call him an idiot.

"Well, I wouldn't have minded somewhere casual," she told him once she stopped laughing at him. "Casual's more my style too."

He grinned, pleased to hear it. "I'll have to take you somewhere casual next time then."

She smirked at his comment but didn't touch on his attempt to ask her out again. He didn't really think anything of it as he hadn't asked her directly anyway, and they spent the rest of dinner divulging facts about themselves and opinions they held. They got mildly excited when viewpoints coincided and good-naturedly argued when they clashed. He didn't think she was particularly witty, or that she was trying to be, but he found that everything she said either made him smile or laugh, and he also liked it when she would laugh at things he said too.

Whether it was due to the easy conversations or the cut of her dress, the night flew by quickly, both only acknowledging they should leave when they noticed all the surrounding tables had been cleared and refilled with other tenants multiple times.

She put her hand out when the bill came, but he quickly grabbed it before she could see. He knew that women only ever offered to pay on a first date so as to not come across as so entitled, but something told him that Sora was the kind of girl who would actually go through with the usual bluff.

"Let me see it," she insisted, trying to take the bill from him by reaching over the table.

He ignored her and pulled back further before opening the leather folder slightly to peek at the total. He had expected it to be expensive given the nature of this place, but he couldn't help but notice that it was five times the price he would have paid at the other restaurant.

"It's fine," he said, trying to appear unperturbed as he pulled out his wallet.

_Think about it this way_, he told himself in his mind as he took out a credit card. _You would have spent the same amount had you gone out… Kind of…_

"Just let me see it at least."

He closed the folder and set it on the table, putting his elbow on top so she couldn't take it. "I'm not really sure why you're trying. You know I'm not going to show it to you."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, looking troubled. "But it's so expensive…"

"You can get me next time," he joked, though her uneasy expression remained unchanged.

She didn't say anything to that comment either, instead offering, "Can I at least get you coffee?"

He tried to stop himself from grinning. She was inviting himself to her place! He had thought it would be difficult with this one, but all it had taken was paying for dinner. Just as he thought, women were all the same. If she was suggesting he get lucky tonight, he wasn't about to turn down her offer.

* * *

_"By the way, I, er, I heard what happened between you and… er… Well, you're okay, right?"_

_Just how was it going around anyway? He hadn't really told many people, but he supposed one mouth was all that was needed to spread information._

_Either that, or they were finding out from her side._

_"Of course I am. It's whatever."_

_"Yeah, forget about her, mate. You'll find someone better."_

You'll find someone better. You'll find someone better. You'll find someone better.

_He felt rage. How many more fucking times was he going to have to hear this? Everywhere he fucking went, everyone seemed to know that he was going to find someone fucking better. Never had he heard a more miserable excuse for consoling in his life._

_Shut the fuck up, he wanted to say._

_"Thanks," he said instead._

* * *

He had been wrong, as when Sora had suggested coffee, it hadn't been a euphemism for spending the night at her place. She actually did take him to a café, but his disappointment was only short-lived. Seated in a cosy booth by the window, he took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves, no longer feeling the need to appear so formal in such a small, quaint café. He was not much of a coffee drinker, but by Sora's recommendation he ordered a macchiato.

"It's a real one," she explained once they had been served their drinks. "See how it's layered?"

He nodded, pretending to know what she was talking about. Coffee was coffee was coffee in his book.

"Try it," she urged.

He did as she said, and while it indeed just tasted like any old cup of coffee, he pretended to enjoy it because she was watching for his reaction. "This is good!"

"I told you, right?" She sat back in her chair, looking satisfied. "This place is great. It's my favourite place to go for a pick-me-up."

"I'll tell Matt to come by then. He drinks coffee like it's water."

She didn't comment at first, leaning back slightly as she raised an eyebrow. "Still?"

Confused, it took him a second to realise what she was talking about. She thought he was still trying to push Matt onto her.

"No," he said as soon as he realised it, immediately trying to explain himself. "I didn't mean it like that. I just mentioned him because he likes coffee. That's all. I swear."

It was true. In hindsight, he was glad Sora had shown interest in him over Matt. It would have been a waste.

"How is he anyway?" she asked, not commenting on his excuse. "You said he was going through a rough time?"

"Er, yeah." He started to distractedly unwrap the piece of chocolate that had come with his coffee. In the past week, a few of his and Matt's mutual friends had reached out to him to ask about Matt's status. It kind of annoyed him and he would always brush them off, as he thought they were just being nosy. However, for Sora, who didn't know them, he thought she was just showing concern. "He went through a pretty devastating breakup a couple weeks ago."

"That's horrible," she said, eyes widening as if she thought it was so rare.

Perhaps it was in Matt's case. The entire time he had known Matt, never had he seen this shattered side of him. Matt was very adamant in being cool and collected, always appearing serious and aloof even when Tai could tell he wanted to act otherwise.

For that reason, Matt's reaction worried him more. This person he had become was not the person he was. He used to think Matt was a block of unemotional steel, impossible to falter. He didn't think that one person could break him in a blink of an eye.

"He'll find someone better," Tai said dismissively, though he honestly did mean his words. He used to think Matt and Megumi were the perfect match, but that illusion flew out the window when she left. As the days carried on, his disapproval over what she did slowly morphed into hatred, and Matt's refusal to fault her for anything only attributed to his case. He had always thought she was a bit expressionless at times, kind of like Matt, but he hadn't known she was heartless.

"I wouldn't say that to him yet," Sora suggested carefully, "but he probably will. I know I don't know him, but from what I could see that night I met you, he must have really loved her."

"She wasn't that great."

The seriousness in her expression left, and she laughed. "Well, at least he has a really nice friend to look out for him, right?"

Knowing she was referring to him, he joked, "Will you tell Matt that? You saw how he badmouthed me."

She nodded in agreement. "I thought he hated you."

"He probably hated me at that moment," Tai admitted, "but I was only trying to help him."

"By using me," she pointed out, half in jest.

"That's such a strong word," he said sheepishly. "It was worth it though, wasn't it? How else would you have introduced me to this delicious latte?"

"Macchiato."

"What?"

"It's called a macchiato."

"My apologies. Macchiato."

She smirked at him. "Well, anyway, even though you _used_ me, I think it's nice you were trying to help him out. Have you guys known each other for a while?"

"We went to the same school, but he was a loser and I hung out with the cool kids, so I didn't really get to know him until uni," he joked. Then, to clarify, he added, "His brother is married to my little sister."

Her face lit up. "Aw, that's so sweet! So, technically, you two are family."

He nodded, not really having thought about it that way before. "Yeah, I guess we are."

He could still remember when he had first met Matt. He had approached him at school after hearing that he was the brother of his sister's new boyfriend. Matt had been very uninterested in getting to know him, so Tai had immediately labelled him a douche, going so far as to think that any brother of that prick Matt Ishida couldn't be worth his sister's time. They didn't really talk to each other until uni, when they coincidentally ended up in the same dormitory. They drove each other crazy for the first year, enough to where there were several instances Tai had seriously considered murdering him, but much to Kari's delight, they grew to be friends once they set their differences aside.

Technically, yes, Matt was a part of family through marriage, but he didn't think either of them labelled the other as a brother. What had started as disinterest and became hatred eventually evolved into friendship. Matt wasn't his sister's brother-in-law; he was his friend, and despite the way they treated the other at times, Matt always had his back, and he always had his.

That was why he would never forgive Megumi. She had hurt his friend.

That girl was supposedly the one who knew Matt the best, so if she knew what he would become, then why did she have to cut him off so cruelly?

For that, yes, he was absolutely certain that Matt could do better.

* * *

_"All right. I think that's everything for now. I'll ring you later once I get more information."_

_Finally._

_"…Congratulations again."_

_He could almost see the ear-to-ear grin at the other end of the line. "Thanks a lot, Matt. I really couldn't be happier."_

* * *

Things had taken an awkward turn.

He had thought the night had gone well, so when it had come to an end and he had walked her to her door, he had leaned in for a kiss. She had turned away, and he had had to stop himself before his lips could touch her cheek. He had laughed it off as he rubbed the side of his neck, trying to make a joke out of it.

"Well, this is awkward."

"I don't kiss on the first date."

"Well then," he had said with a grin, "I guess that means I'll just have to ask you out on a second one."

And that was when she had fallen silent, leaving him to realise that she was not just having playful banter, but that he was in actuality seconds away from rejection.

In retrospect, there had been little signs. When he had tried to drop hints that he wanted to see her again, she had never responded to a single one. He had thought she had merely missed them, but she had probably caught on and ignored them on purpose.

He had to admit it. He was a little stunned.

The conversations had flowed, the chemistry had been there, there had been no major mishaps on either side. His mistake came the night he met her, but she had obviously been attracted enough to him to accept a first date. What had he done so terribly wrong that couldn't warrant a second?

"Is it because I work for Mitsubishi? Do you only date guys who work at Sumitomo?" he joked, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

She laughed and shook her head. "It's not that."

"Am I ugly?"

"No, you're handsome. It's just…" She paused, studying his face. "You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"What?" he asked loudly without thinking, forgetting to appear composed due to sheer confusion. It definitely had not been what he was expecting her to say.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, looking alarmed too. "I don't know. It's just that you seem so great—but that night I met you—your friend said you lied a lot—and then you lied about Kyoto—and then that girl at the convenience store—and you changed restaurants—and—er—" She looked down, then looked up again, red in the face. "I'm so sorry. I must sound completely mental right now. I just… I want to make sure you aren't lying to me."

He couldn't help but notice this was the second time she had stuttered like this, but he continued not to draw attention to it.

"I'm not lying to you," he said, trying to sound as genuine as possible.

She was investigating his face, trying to find any traces of untruth in his expression. He tried not to show the awkwardness he felt, but he had to admit that she had made it difficult for him not to do so.

"I'm sorry," she repeated with a wince, obviously embarrassed too.

"I'm going to kill Matt when I get home," he growled light-heartedly, though he was serious. This was all that bastard's fault. Just wait until he got his hands on him.

"Did I just ruin my chance with you?" she asked slowly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Her words made him breathe a sigh of relief, somewhat reviving the confidence he had previously held that she was at the very least interested in him.

"Not yet. I still want that kiss, so I want that second date." Smirking, he added, "Maybe if I can convince you that I'm not a liar, you might give me a third."

She laughed a little, but he could tell she was still embarrassed. "A second date sounds lovely. And, er, I really am sorry. All of that was a little uncalled for."

"I'll forgive you." He lifted his finger and pointed it to his cheek. "Can I at least get a kiss here? You know, for all this mental stress you just put me through?"

She laughed but still looked hesitant by his request.

"Not even on the cheek?" he teased.

After a moment's thought, she gradually reached up to kiss it. It was childish, something that got him in trouble when he had been young and shy, but he turned at the last second, sneaking in a peck on the lips. He knew there was a chance it would make her angry, but she laughed it off, giving his shoulder a small push instead.

"There. Now we both did things that were uncalled for, so we're even," he explained.

"That's the only reason I'm letting it pass," she joked back, biting her lips as if she were wiping them, making him want to try kissing them again.

"Now that I got the kiss, I guess there's no need for a second date," he said, putting his hands in his pockets as he grinned. "You were right. I was lying when I said I wanted another one."

She rolled her eyes. "That wasn't even a real kiss."

"So give me a real one," he challenged.

"Would it change your mind about a second date?"

"I'd say so."

"All right then." Surprised that it had worked, he let her put her hands on his forearms and lean upwards towards his lips. He lowered his head down to meet her halfway, but she pulled back at the last second and stepped back. "I was lying too. I don't want a second date either." She turned around to unbolt the door to her flat. "Good night."

"You really aren't going to kiss me?" He was staring at her in disbelief, and his question came out more serious than he wanted it to sound.

It didn't faze her, as she only smirked at him. "You already got one, remember?"

"But you said it wasn't a real one," he reminded her.

"I don't kiss on the first date," she reminded him.

"Can't you break it just this once?"

She laughed. "Not for a guy like you, no."

"A guy like me?"

She nodded, smiling but not giving him an explanation. "Good night, Tai."

"Wait," he said quickly. He wanted to either try his luck again or ask her if she was insulting him, but he decided to keep it safe. "We'll keep it casual next time."

She nodded again. "Deal."

"I'll show you I'm not a liar."

"We'll see."

Whether she saw the disappointment on his face or felt bad for her last comment, she reached up and gave him the kiss on his cheek he had cheated her out of earlier. It was nothing, a cheek kiss, but for as innocent and uneventful as a cheek kiss was, this one did feel a little nice.

"Good night."

* * *

Tai threw open the front door of his flat, ready to unleash his fury. "Where are you, douchebag?!"

His flatmate didn't respond to him, so he slammed the door and marched over to Matt's room. Sora not trusting him was all Matt's fault, and even though he couldn't say he was really all that angry anymore, he still wanted to give him a piece of his mind.

He knocked hard against the door. "Get out here. I have to yell at you."

He heard a distant sigh, followed by the door opening slightly.

"What," Matt said dully, clearly looking like he wanted to be left alone.

Tai ignored his signal, pushing his door open and coming inside, instantly crinkling his nose by the cigarette smell overtaking the room.

"It smells like ass. Open a window," he nagged.

Not responding, Matt glumly situated himself at his previous spot at his desk. He was accompanied by a nearly empty bottle of gin, an empty cup and a filthy ashtray that Tai wanted to fling at his head to remind him for the ten millionth time to keep outside.

"What do you want?" Matt asked irritably.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" he retorted back sarcastically. Matt ignored him, pouring the rest of his gin in his empty glass before taking it in one gulp. "Are you drunk again?"

He didn't even know why he was asking. Nowadays, he saw Matt drunk more than he saw him sober.

"No," Matt answered simply, flicking the ash off his cigarette onto the ashtray. "We don't have anything left."

"And whose fault is that?" Tai growled.

"I'll pay you back."

"You're missing the point."

Matt sighed gloomily, and Tai forced himself not to roll his eyes.

"What's wrong with you now, Princess?"

Matt didn't glare at him like he usually would, taking a last drag of his cigarette, putting it out and lighting another. Annoyed, Tai walked to his window and opened it.

"It's cold."

"I'd rather be cold than breathing in that shit."

"It's my room."

"Then get up and shut your window."

"I've been invited to a wedding."

Tai raised an eyebrow by the sudden change in subject. "That's nice."

"Everyone will probably ask me about Meg there," Matt explained.

Tai wanted to strangle him for thinking about such a thing. "Nobody's going to ask you about her. That's just awkward."

"All our mutual friends are going to be there. People are going to ask."

"Nobody's going to ask."

"They've already been asking."

"Then tell them to mind their own business."

"What if Meg comes?"

"Give that bitch a piece of your mind!"

"She's not a bitch."

Tai rolled his eyes. "Just so you know, I was going to say a different word, but I stopped myself. I was being nice by only calling her a bitch."

Matt sighed again, then stood up. "I'm going to the liquor store. Do you want anything?"

"Stop drinking so much," he reprimanded.

"You're one to talk," Matt scoffed. "You drink more than I do, and I never nag at you."

He frowned. "It's one thing to have one drink every night, but it's another to drink like you've just turned twenty every single day by yourself in your room."

"It isn't every day."

"Really? Because—" He stopped his sarcastic reply when he saw how miserable Matt looked. He didn't want his friend to become an alcoholic, but Matt did have a point. He didn't feel like it was his place to say anything to him when he was the one who used any excuse to drink excessively. He sighed too. "Look, are you all right?"

Matt took another drag of his cigarette, keeping it in his lungs for a few seconds before exhaling the smoke away from Tai's direction. This was evolutionary in their friendship. Back in uni when they had disliked each other, Matt would blow it in his face.

"No."

"Matt, there are other—"

"Don't give me the damn spiel about other girls, Tai," he interrupted irritably before letting the testiness change back to gloom, apparently too depressed to argue. "I read online that it takes half the time you were with someone to get over them."

"Why are you reading stuff like that?"

"If that's true, it means it'll take me six years, six months, one week and one day to get over her. It's only been thirteen days. I can't do it, Tai."

Matt had gone mad. He was crazy for keeping count of such a thing, but Tai didn't say this aloud because he seriously thought Matt was on the verge of a mental breakdown—or had already partaken in one.

"The wedding is going to blow."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." Matt finished the rest of his cigarette and put it out with the others. "At least I still have you."

"Whoa," Tai muttered cautiously.

Matt didn't glare at him like he usually would have. "I mean at least I can count on you to be single with me while the rest of my friends are so happy."

The image of his date earlier briefly flashed in Tai's mind.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Fuck bitches, get money, right?"

Matt looked confused. "What? What are you talking about?"

"It's a rap song."

"I don't listen to rap music."

"Well, _excuse_ me. Go look it up. It's a good song."

"Doubt it," Matt muttered. "Anyway, I'm off to get more alcohol. You sure you don't want anything?"

Tai watched as Matt shuffled about, dragging his feet sluggishly on the floor as he walked over to his wardrobe for a jacket. Everything about him screamed "pity me." His slouched shoulders lowered his tall frame, his sharp features and pale complexion highlighted the dark shadows underneath his eyes and gaunt cheeks, and his prized hair was dishevelled and unstyled. He looked an absolute mess that couldn't be thrown out in public, a far cry from the Matt he knew.

"Don't go," Tai said quietly. "I have stuff in my room. You can drink that."

Matt didn't look his way. "It's fine."

"Just drink it. I don't want it anyway."

"It's fine."

"Take it when I'm offering instead of stealing it from me later."

"I said it's fine!" Matt hissed irritably, turning to glare at him. He looked slightly alarmed by his outburst, and he ran a hand over his face as he took a deep breath. "Sorry."

"…It's all right."

Tai stepped aside to let him go. He was Matt's friend, not his father, and if Matt wanted to do something, he had no right to stop him.

The two left Matt's room, but just before Tai entered his own, Matt asked, "Didn't you say you were going to yell at me for something?"

He was referring to when he had stormed in earlier. Tai had forgotten all about that. He had come to reprimand him for what Matt had told Sora, and how that had left a lasting impression on her.

Now, however, he felt it to be so trivial, almost inappropriate. Sora was not his girlfriend, and for all he knew, he would get tired of her by tomorrow. If his track record was any indication, it was a likely possibility.

He decided for now that Matt did not need to know about her.

"…I was going to tell you to smoke on the balcony."

Matt nodded, dismissing it as nothing, and the two parted ways.

* * *

Notes:  
- As with every country, different parts of Japan have different dialects, but with Japanese it is relatively easier to "fix" them to make it sound more generic. An example of this was shown in Tamers. Ryou, being from Kyushu, spoke with a regional dialect when speaking to his father, but he sounded very standard when he spoke to the other Tamers, who resided in Tokyo. This is very common in Japanese and can be done with little strain in comparison to other countries' tongues. That's what I meant when I said Sora changed her Kyoto dialect to a standard Tokyo one.  
- Mitsubishi and Sumitomo are two of the largest conglomerates in Japan. Mitsubishi Corporation is a part of the Mitsubishi brand.  
- The OECD is an international organisation that focuses on globalisation and economic integration.  
- Sora's birthday was taken from the movie, but I'm a little confused because the way the Japanese calculate age, a March birthday wouldn't allow her to be in the same school year as Tai.  
- When Tai says "...drink like you've just turned twenty…", it's because that is the legal drinking age in Japan.  
- "Fuck bitches, get money." Apparently, I'm the only person in the world who didn't know this was a song.


	5. Chapter 5: Charity

Thank you so much for your reviews!

Raised the rating to M because, let's face it, life is rated M.

**Paradigm Shift  
Chapter 5: Charity**

He went through phases when he thought he wanted a relationship. This would last approximately three weeks, when he'd start to pick out every single flaw in the girl until he convinced himself that he needed to end it. She was too clingy, too unavailable, too crazy, too boring, too different, too plain, too opinionated, too timid. No matter what, he would always find something.

Three weeks and one day later, however, Tai had yet to find a reason to end things with Sora.

They looked like any other couple walking down the bustling, bright streets of Shibuya on a Sunday night. The summer had been long that year, going well into September, but autumn had finally hit Japan, and the crisp, cool air was a nice change, even for him, who much rather preferred being warm.

His hands were tucked into his hooded jumper, and she had her left arm linked over his right. They were talking about the dinner they had just had, she raving about the quality of food while he complained that he had eaten too much. He pretended to be concerned about his bulging stomach, using it as an excuse to get her to touch it. In reality, he rarely gained weight, and two decades of football gave him the physique he wanted. He just wanted to impress her, though she disappointingly said nothing about it, only scolding him for eating more than he needed.

As usual, they were headed to her flat. He had seen it quite a few times now, though she had yet to set foot in his. He told her it was because Matt didn't like it when he brought guests over, but the reality was that he had still not told Matt about their relationship.

He told himself it was because they weren't _technically_ set in stone or anything like that. He didn't call Sora his girlfriend, and Sora never called him her boyfriend either. He liked to believe they were casual, though it was probably a stretch to say that anymore.

For a while, he believed they weren't anything. She gave him a short kiss after the second date, a long one after the third. He used to go into every date saying it was the last and that they were nothing, but one day she asked him if he was seeing any other girls, and it made him realise he had not. She said that she wasn't seeing anyone else either, and his first reaction had been relief. They hadn't really talked about it after admitting that to each other, both knowing that the question had been each other's way of telling the other they weren't allowed to do so anymore.

He was surprisingly okay with it. Even though Sora wasn't his girlfriend and this wasn't anything serious, he didn't want her to be with anyone else. Oddly, he hadn't had the urge to be with a different girl either.

"You were checking out the waitress tonight," she said, changing the subject as they walked into her flat. She turned on the lights, giving him a front row view of her frown. He instantly laughed, leaning down to kiss her but forfeiting when she pointed to the door, telling him to lock it. He always forgot, since he rarely remembered to lock his own front door at home.

"I wasn't checking her out," he explained, trying to defend himself. "I was just looking because her proportions were off. She had the smallest waist and legs but her a—butt was huge. It was weird. Didn't you notice?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, Tai. I guess I forgot to check out the waitress' bum during our _date_."

He reached out to put an arm around her, using it to pull her towards him. "Come on, Sor. It wasn't like that. You're taking it out of context."

"What context?" she challenged, glaring though she didn't squirm out of his grasp. "The context is that she walked by, and you stared!"

"I like yours better," he joked to change the subject, earning him a slap on his shoulder as she pulled away.

"Yeah right. The next time we go out to dinner, I'm requesting the hottest male waiter they have, and I'm going to stare at him all night."

He knew she was not actually upset, but he apologised anyway. "Fine, I'm sorry that I was looking at the waitress. Next time, I'll only look at you."

"Hmph," she huffed lightheartedly. He leaned down to try and kiss her, but she wouldn't let him, turning her heel to go into the kitchen instead.

He laughed at her feigned anger before settling himself into one of her couches to wait for her.

Okay, so he had checked the waitress out a little bit, but if any guy in that restaurant said he hadn't, he was lying.

He waited until Sora came back, holding two beers in her hands. She handed one to him before sitting down beside him. Her back to the arm of the couch, she crossed her legs over his. He drummed a short number on her knees before she got annoyed and pretended to knee his chin. He laughed, taken aback only slightly, and took a swig of his beer, using her knee as his coaster instead. She was more allowing of that.

He thought the reason he liked Sora so much was because their friendship had progressed as well as their relationship. She was laidback and never tried hard, making it comfortable to be around her. It was almost like she was a really great friend, albeit one that he was attracted to.

For one thing, he actually enjoyed talking to her and being in her company. He could spend hours with her without ever wanting to make an excuse to leave. He admittedly had a short attention span, so he often got bored being with the same people for too long. The only person this didn't apply to was his little sister. Everyone else he would grow tired of by the second or third hour.

"I wish I had met you in the spring," he started.

Sora looked at him with a sigh. "I feel like this is going to be romantic, but I already know it isn't."

He patted her legs with his hand. "You always wear trousers."

She kicked one leg up to show her disapproval. "It's cold. You wear a skirt, and I will too."

"Shorts for shorts?" he compromised hopefully.

"It's cold," she repeated, shooting him down.

He rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why I was checking out the waitress."

She reached up to put an arm around his neck, pretending to wrestle him. He laughed, letting her do so until it started to actually hurt, in which he peeled her off him, laying her down on the couch and shifting his own weight on top of her. He kissed her, and for once she didn't seem to mind, slinging her arms over his neck and arching her back to him, even letting him slip in some tongue. Using his left elbow to support their weight, he slid his right hand from her face to her neck, past her shoulder blades and down her back, kissing her fervently as he tried his luck and grazed her bottom.

She instantly broke the moment, pulling away from the kiss to move his hand for him, moving it back to her waist while giving him a stern look.

"Tai," she warned.

This was it. The minor detail of her refusal to get intimate with him was her downside.

Well, it had started out minor anyway. It was now starting to creep into major crisis territory.

It wasn't just sex. It was everything. She barely let him touch her, and they never went past kissing. Even then, she would pull away at the best parts. It was like he was a preteen all over again, when holding hands had been a big deal and a kiss scandalous.

"Oops," he said with a small smile, pretending like he hadn't known what he was doing. He leaned down to kiss her again, but she put a hand to his chest, gently pushing him away.

"It's getting late. Don't you have to get up early for work tomorrow?"

And this. Whenever he did try to pass a boundary she had set up, she would promptly send him home. It was almost like she was conditioning him, though it did little to stop him from trying again.

"I can spend the night," he suggested hazily, meeting her lips.

She wiggled underneath him and slipped off the couch. "Come on."

She outstretched a hand for him to hold so she could help him up. He groaned loudly as he obliged.

"But I'm tired," he complained, trying to kiss her again.

She allowed him a single one before pulling back. "Call me tomorrow."

"Fine," he muttered, slightly frustrated. He let her lead him to the front door, and perhaps she saw him looking disappointed, as she reached up to kiss him one more time before she said her final good night. The kiss was better than a peck, but it wasn't anything special.

* * *

He expected to see the usual weekend scenario at his flat: Matt sulking in his room, wallowing in self-pity as he drowned himself in alcohol and choked himself with cigarette smoke. Thankfully, Matt had stopped getting inebriated on a daily basis, but he claimed it was only because it was getting too difficult going to work everyday with a hangover. Weekends were when he caught up.

Instead, he came home to a rare sight as of late. The lights were on, and after a bit of searching, Tai found his flatmate in the bathroom, looking as if he had somewhere to go.

"Hey," Matt greeted him distractedly, checking his reflection in their newly fixed mirror. His hair was done, his facial stubble gone, his clothes presentable.

Confused by his sudden cleaned-up appearance, Tai asked, "Are you going out?"

Matt moved pieces of his fringe out of his eyes. "Yeah."

When Matt didn't elaborate, he continued, "Where are you going?"

"Strip club."

He lifted a brow. "_You're_ going to a strip club?"

Matt didn't appear to catch the disbelief in his tone. "Yeah. Want to come?"

"Nah, I'm all right." He leaned against the door, grinning a little. "I can't believe _you're_ going to a strip club. You know tomorrow's Monday, don't you?"

"Yes, well, apparently, Sunday's the best night to go."

He raised an eyebrow because Matt was one of the last people who would have known something like that. "Says who?"

"TAI!" came a sudden, overenthusiastic voice.

From Matt's room emerged Davis Motomiya, a friend of Tai's from his schooling days. They had been on the same football team together, and Davis practically worshipped him.

"Hey Davis," Tai greeted, slightly puzzled. Matt and Davis never hung out together. He didn't even think they were on terms where they even went out of their ways to talk to each other without a mutual friend present.

"I ran into him on the way back from the market," Matt explained, reading the confusion in Tai's voice.

"Come to the strip club with us!" Davis suggested excitedly.

"I would, but I'm really tired, and I have to get up early in the morning," he lied.

In all honesty, he wouldn't mind going out, but something told him Sora would not be okay with that.

"Come onnnn," Davis pleaded, his face falling instantly. "We never hang out anymore. It's like you dropped off the face of the planet."

Tai shrugged, used to Davis' dramatic whinging. "I've just been really busy with work."

"But Matt has officially been single for a month! We're going to celebrate by buying him his very first lap dance!"

"I went to a strip club with Meg once," Matt muttered to no one in particular, scowling at the memory. "She bought me a lap dance."

Davis ignored him, which made Tai believe Matt had spent a great deal talking about his ex-girlfriend already. That was all Matt talked about anymore, if he even felt like talking at all.

"Hey, Tai, can I borrow a shirt?" Davis asked, changing the subject. "I don't want to go out looking like this, but all of Matt's clothes are too small on me."

"They're also too long," Matt snapped.

While Tai and Davis enjoyed exercising, Matt avoided it as much as possible. It wasn't that he was lazy. He just didn't like sport or the gym. The difference in body type was something they liked to tease him about, though Matt would come back with a comment about his taller height.

"Knock yourself out," Tai offered, and Davis left to go to his room. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Matt. "Why are you going to a strip club with Davis?"

Matt sighed. "I don't know. I told him I didn't want to go, but because he's been so influenced by a certain _somebody_"—he glared at Tai—"here I am."

Tai frowned.

"You're going too," Matt informed him.

"No, I really can't. I have work tomorrow."

Matt scowled at him. "And I don't?"

He opened his mouth to protest but realised he had nothing.

"I'm tired," he tried again, already knowing it sounded like an excuse.

"You always are," Matt grumbled, turning back to the mirror.

He leaned against the counter, the sarcasm not lost in him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

He held in the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes, Matt could act like such a little girl.

"Just tell me. Come on, humour me, Matt."

He expected Matt to just ignore him as he always did, but, to his surprise, he answered.

"You're the one who always tells me to go out, yet you never have time to do anything anymore," Matt explained, glaring at him sourly. He then sighed, turning on the faucet to wash the hair gel from his hands. "I only agreed to go because I thought it wouldn't remind me of her, but thanks to Davis just now, I remember that we went together once during uni. How is it that I even went _there_ with her? Maybe I should just stay home too. I don't even like strip clubs."

Tai contained his sigh, pushing Matt's shoulder roughly to let him know that he was not pleased by the guilt trip. "Fine, I'll go, you bastard. Give me five minutes to change. Have your stupid hair ready by then."

"I don't want to go anymore."

"Well, _I_ do," he retorted firmly. "If we don't go tonight, I'll never forgive you, so stop thinking about that bitch and get ready."

He turned his heel and began the trek to his room, faintly hearing Matt autocorrecting him: "She's not a bitch."

Despite the lie, he liked to believe this was progress. This was the first time since the breakup that Matt had willingly wanted to go out. It had to mean something.

* * *

Davis raised an eyebrow as Matt took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "I thought you quit ages ago."

Matt didn't answer him, pausing momentarily to light one before storing everything away again.

"He's addicted again," Tai explained for him.

"I'm not addicted," Matt snapped crabbily. "I can stop if I want to."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Just get the hell away from me. The smoke is getting in my face."

Matt rolled his eyes at Tai, not saying anything as he simply stepped back to walk downwind of him and Davis. Tai turned around with a small grin to say he hadn't meant any harm, but Matt brushed it off, remaining behind the other two.

"So where have you been?" Davis asked, stretching his arms over his head. "Nobody's heard from you in ages. We all thought you died."

Considering the second pair of ears behind them, Tai shrugged nonchalantly. "Work's been hectic."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Even on the weekends? Come on, you've always been down to hang out, but I haven't seen you for a month! What, do you have a girlfriend or something?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Tai shot down immediately, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Why would I have a girlfriend?"

It wasn't really a lie. Despite everything, neither he nor Sora had ever established that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Technically, he was not tied down to her.

Davis cracked a smile. "I don't know. I just thought I'd ask for the hell of it." He broke eye contact, staring straight ahead. "So, anyway, Kari's pregnant," he started, saying as if Tai didn't already know. "What's that all about? We're only 24…"

Tai could tell Davis was trying his hardest to act like he hadn't been thinking about bringing it up for a while, but Davis was a terrible liar.

Tai smirked. "Yeah, now you really have no chance with my sister."

Davis scowled, looked quite displeased. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you? It was just a stupid crush I had when I was a kid." He cleared his throat. "It's just weird how old we are now, isn't it? My friends are getting married, they're having kids…" He shuddered. "I couldn't do that. We're so young."

"We're not that young."

"Well, _I'm_ that young," Davis rephrased cheekily. "As for the two of you, your biological times are ticking."

* * *

Matt sighed as he sipped his drink. Davis currently had his face buried in some stripper's chest. Tai was flirting with another, who would probably con him of hundreds of pounds by the end of the night. He hated strip clubs. What the hell had he been thinking when he agreed to this? This was a waste of money and a waste of time.

"Hey love. Would you like a dance?"

A woman had come up to him. She had platinum blonde hair curled and pinned intricately, glitter all over her exposed body. He felt awkward talking to a naked woman he was not attracted to. He began to shake his head no, but Tai appeared beside him in a flash, wallet in hand. "I've got it! I've got it!"

"No, I don't want—"

But the woman was already straddling him. He shot Tai a death glare.

"You're welcome," Tai said, laughing at his expense.

He hated this. He hated this stripper. He hated Tai. He hated Davis. He hated everything in the world. Why the hell had he agreed to come here? Had he really been that desperate for a distraction?

"You're really cute," the stripper said to him, annoyingly interrupting his inner rant. "What's your name?"

"Matt," he answered dully, not really knowing where to point his eyes.

"Pleased to meet you, Matt. My name's Charity."

_Of course it is._

He felt a drink and a wallet being stuffed in his hand. He looked over and saw a tuft of brown hair disappearing into the crowd.

Tai, that bastard. Just wait until he got his hands on him.

* * *

He had chosen the girl who looked the least like Megumi to give Matt a dance. Tai, satisfied that Matt was distracted for now, took out his mobile to write Sora back. She had messaged him to say she couldn't sleep.

'_You should have let me spend the night then.'_

A second later, Sora answered, predictably ignoring what he had said.

'_Why aren't you sleeping either? You're going to be tired in the morning.'_

A dancer asked him for a dance, and he politely declined.

'_Matt made me go out. He's still trying to get over his ex.'_

He took a sip of his drink and settled himself further into the plush seat he had picked out for himself. A part of him felt like he had no business here, so he was just going to sit here until Matt was ready to go. Knowing Matt, that wouldn't be far from now. He'd entertain himself with Sora's virtual presence in the meantime.

'_The poor dear. Where did you guys go?'_

Damn.

He set his drink on the table and stared at his mobile. His first instinct was to tell a little white lie, but he decided there was no need. She'd understand that he was only here for his friend, and it wasn't like they were on serious terms anyway.

Besides, Megumi let Matt go to a strip club once, and Sora was much cooler than Megumi ever was. She'd understand.

'_Strip club lol'_

Still, just in case, he added the "lol" to indicate the trifling nature of the situation. He took his drink again, taking sips as he waited.

A few minutes later, she had yet to respond, and he began to grow nervous. Unless she had fallen asleep, she was purposely not responding. He seriously doubted the former. He cursed to himself, wishing he could go back in time to say something else to her.

"Tai!" Davis suddenly plopped down next to him, drunkenly throwing an arm over his shoulder and leaning his body against his. "Where's Matt?"

"Uh, over there," Tai said hurriedly, standing up. "Hey, I have to take a call really quickly. Buy him a drink or something to loosen him up. You can put it on my tab."

"What about me?" Davis asked, looking at him with glazed eyes.

"Yeah, go nuts," Tai said hurriedly, wanting him to go away. Davis had a habit of attaching himself to him, but the permission to use Tai's tab was enough to get rid of him. Davis saluted him, then wobbled out of the couch towards their friend. Tai dashed to the exit, dialling Sora's number the moment he was outside.

"You're at a strip club?!" she hissed upon answering, sounding furious.

"For Matt," Tai clarified quickly. "He wanted to go out, so—"

"So you went to a strip club," she finished for him, quite pointedly making him realise that perhaps that hadn't been the best decision after all.

"Well, yeah…"

"And when were you planning to tell me this, Tai? Do you do this a lot? Go to these kind of places and not tell me about it?"

"No! Sor, I haven't gone out at all since I started dating you. I didn't think you'd care…"

"You're right. Because why would I care that my _boyfriend_ sneaks out to a _strip club_ without telling me?!"

He flinched. It was the first time either of them had called the other a boyfriend or girlfriend. He wasn't sure if he was okay with it, but he would have liked the chance to think about it before she broke up with him for this.

Not really knowing what to say, he settled with, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously not. Good night, Tai."

"Sora, I—" She hung up, fuelling a nerve. He couldn't stand when girls did that, but he did what he knew she wanted him to do, which was to ring her back.

Unsurprisingly, she didn't answer. He groaned in frustration, wishing she would pick up just so he could tell her that she was acting stupid. He dialled again; it went to voicemail again.

Well, there was nothing more he could do about that. She could ring him whenever she was ready, but he wasn't going to let this petty thing ruin his night.

Despite thinking this, he could already feel his mood suffering. He sighed, turned back towards the entrance of the building and noticed for the first time that there was a massive bouncer at the door, doing his job of looking intimidating extremely well.

"I just came out to take a call," Tai explained, raising his mobile to him.

"You can't come back in once you've gone out."

He glared at the guard, mostly because he wasn't even looking his way. "Are you serious?"

"Those are the rules."

His arse.

"My friend came out for a cigarette thirty minutes ago! He got back in!"

"You get a stamp on the hand if you're a smoker," the bouncer informed him, holding one up and finally looking in his direction for once.

"Well, give me a stamp," he demanded testily, even though he knew his attitude was progressively ruining his chances to get back inside.

The doorman scowled, not amused by Tai's demanding tone. "You get the stamp _before_ you go out, hotshot. Pay up, or go home."

He wanted to argue further, but considering this guard was easily three times his weight, Tai angrily reached to his back pocket for his wallet. It took him several pats to realise that it wasn't there. He swore silently as he remembered he had given it to Matt to use.

"My wallet's inside," he explained.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is. Get out of here."

The bouncer rolled his eyes and pushed him out to the pavement, further triggering Tai's anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself, knowing there would be no good arguing with this man. Instead, he took out his mobile. He rang Matt, then Davis, then Matt, then Davis. Neither of them answered.

He tried his luck and tried bargaining with the guard again, but to no avail.

With no options left, he did the only thing he could do. He messaged Matt and Davis that he had gone, then began his long walk home.

* * *

It was a familiar feeling, being drunk, but this time, he found that instead of wanting to kill himself, he was rather enjoying it.

He drank the last bit of his drink that no longer had any taste and clumsily sat up to put the glass on the table, accidentally knocking into Charity's chest on the way.

He thought he understood why his friends liked strip clubs so much now.

"Touching costs you extra, love," she purred to him, pushing him back down.

He opened Tai's wallet and saw that he had somehow spent all the notes inside. For a fleeting second, he wondered if Tai would care. He grinned at her. "Oops, no more."

She smirked back. "You're lucky you're cute." She leaned in and put the empty wallet in his back pocket, squeezing his bum as she did so.

"You're cute too," he slurred drunkenly, hiccoughing once. "Y-you're the sexiest girl I've ever met!"

He couldn't make out her facial features anymore, but he meant it.

"Why, thank you," she accepted.

"You're blonde." He took a lock of her hair between his fingers, then held it up to his. "I am too. We're practically made for each other. You and I should—hic—have babies. My brother's having a baby. He's blonde too. You'd like him. Did I tell you he's having a baby? They'll be sexy stripper babies. Yours and mine, not his. We can name them—hey, where are you going?"

She got off him, smiling warmly. He stood up too, using the table as support, blinking hard as the blood rushed to his head.

He was drunker than he thought.

He took one arm off the table, reaching forward to grab Charity. He couldn't tell whether this was her arm or her waist or her leg or her neck, but he was holding onto something.

"Did you stop because I'm not giving you money anymore? Come on, Charity, don't be like that."

"My shift is over."

His face fell. "So you're leaving me?"

She smiled at him once more, then leaned in to his ear, hands on his shoulders. "Come with me to the back. Maybe we can go somewhere and hang out after I change."

She intertwined her fingers with his, then led him through the club. He drunkenly wobbled behind her, not really paying attention to where he was going. She opened a large metal door at the back of the venue that led to a small corridor. He squinted, trying to adjust to the change in lighting as they entered a brightly lit dressing room.

"You're sparkly and naked," he slurred, blinking repeatedly to try and turn the blurry mass in front of him into a discernable figure.

She picked up a robe from a chair and slipped it on. "Give me a second to change."

"Why are you putting clothes on?" he asked disappointedly, snatching the shirt she had pulled out of a bag. He pointed at what appeared to be a couch. "You and me. Right here. Let's go. I'll give you a million pounds."

She frowned as he fumbled with his belt. "I'm not a prostitute."

He laughed as if she had something immensely hilarious, pulling her by the arm to him. "I know that. I'm—hic—not like that. I'm a nice guy, I swear. Ask anyone. I don't judge you, Charity. Do you judge me? Am I talking too much? This is funny because I don't actually talk that much—"

She shushed him with a finger to her lips. There was a pause, and he took it as permission to try to kiss her. She wouldn't let him, putting a hand to his chest to stop him. He wished he could see her face more clearly to see what her expression was. It would have helped him decide his next move.

"How drunk are you, love?"

He removed her hand from his chest, taking a step closer to her again. "Not that drunk," he promised, truly believing his words. "I want you. You're everything I've ever wanted."

She seemed unsure, so he leaned down to kiss her. It was sloppy and clumsy and not particularly any good, but he kept going anyway. Whether it was his drunkenness or his loneliness feeling it for him, it felt good to kiss someone—even if that person wasn't his Megumi.


	6. Chapter 6: Flashback

**Paradigm Shift  
Chapter 6: Flashback**

_She was smiling at him, dimples forming on her cheeks. They were so faint that he hadn't even noticed them for years, though by now, he had memorised everything about her. He could paint a perfect portrait of her in his mind, probably better than he could of himself. _

_He wondered what she saw when she looked at him. She claimed he was difficult to read, but he thought she was harder. He knew everything about her, yet she was in some way still a mystery to him, some unknown that he only thought he knew._

_It was odd because she once admitted the same thing about him, but he couldn't think of anyone else who knew him as well as she did. She could read him like a book, much better than he could ever think to read her. _

"_We've been together for so long that I keep thinking you'll get tired of me at any moment."_

_He expected hesitation but the response came immediately._

"_I've never thought that."_

_An accidental slip of a smile. Neither were fantastic when it came to showing how pleased they were—at least showing it in the form of something as conventional as a turn of the lips. She was probably better than him though. _

"_Maybe you can forget about me in a day, but I don't think I could ever get over you."_

* * *

Somebody was shaking his shoulder.

He stirred in his sleep, awaking to a throbbing head and an immediate irritation that somebody was disturbing him.

"Wake up, love."

The sound of the feminine voice was unfamiliar. His eyes instantly shot open, and he stared into the person looking right back at him. She had bright blue eyes and was dressed in a short, lacy nightgown. Her damp, platinum blonde hair was poking out of the towel around her head. He jumped, surprised by her presence in his room.

Who was she?

He looked down at his sheets to realise they were not, in fact, his sheets. He scanned the room to confirm that it wasn't his either.

Where was he?

She laughed softly and handed what looked like a pile of his clothing to him. He wasn't sure how he hadn't notice he was unclothed until this point, but he was.

What the _hell _happened?

"Good morning," she greeted him.

He quickly scrambled to put his pants on to cover up the indecent part of him.

"Who are you?" he asked carefully, pulling the covers up slightly, as if that would do anything.

"Claire." She looked at him oddly when his expression remained blank, then sighed. "Charity?"

His eyes widened and without thinking cried out, "The stripper?!"

As much as it didn't matter, he couldn't help but think she looked very different in the daylight. He could barely remember what she looked like the night before, but she definitely didn't look like this. She looked like any other girl, and had this been the first time he saw her, it would have never crossed his mind that she stripped for a living.

The realisation was a little unsettling.

"I went _home_ with you last night?!"

She looked both annoyed and hurt by his tone.

He hadn't meant to sound so rude, but on the other hand he couldn't care less about her feelings at the moment.

This couldn't have happened. Not to him. It was some sort of bad dream, and he would wake up any moment.

He swore he was going to kill Tai for not stopping him. The second that bastard got home from work, he was going to—

Work!

"What time is it?" he demanded, looking frantically around the room for a clock.

"It's just past 11."

"_Fuck_!" He sprang out of bed, fumbling with his shirt and trousers which were anything but business attire. "I'm late!"

She frowned at him, obviously disappointed by his reaction to the whole ordeal. "I can call you a cab."

He didn't say anything back to her, and she left the room. He clothed himself as fast as he could, checking his pockets for his belongings. His mobile was there, battery dead. His wallet was there. _Tai's_ wallet was there.

Wait, what?

He'd worry about that later. He charged out the door to see Charity waiting for him on the other side.

"I called you a cab," she told him.

Even though he was already two hours late for work, he paused to think about whether he should ask her what he wanted to. It seemed grotesquely inappropriate, especially given his rude reaction to her earlier, but he justified it with the thought that he would never see her again.

"Did we use protection?"

He couldn't tell if he sounded awkward, but he knew he sounded deadpan. It was his default tone when he could think of no other.

She looked even more disappointed, and it surprised him once more that she looked so normal. He wanted her to look like some loose, directionless girl that didn't care about him, but she looked just upset enough to make him feel a little guilty. The guilt was overshadowed by his disappointment in himself for now, but he was sure it would return later to plague him.

She nodded, and his guilt rose. He had obviously offended her from the beginning, and he was making no effort to conceal it.

"Sorry, I just—"

"It's no problem, love. You just want to make sure you didn't catch anything from a stripper like me, right?"

In fact, that was exactly what he was thinking, but her tone was so hurt that it made him feel bad for thinking it. He only shook his head as he opened the front door to her flat. "Sorry for everything. I'll, er, I'll see you around."

He said it knowing he never would, but he didn't care. He had to leave. He had to leave now.

* * *

"Hi Tai! How was work?"

Tai ignored his neighbour, pretending like he hadn't noticed her pop out of her flat just as he walked by. Urara had a loud voice, but he pretended he couldn't hear it through his headphones.

Normally, he would have been fine making small talk, but he was in a sour mood today. Work had been a bloody nightmare, and he hated everyone. He swore he was going to quit his job the second he got a different offer, and he'd never look back.

In reality, he knew that the real reason why he had had such a rough day wasn't due to work at all. It was freaking Sora and her freaking dramatics that had ruined it.

After the events of last night, she was still not talking to him. At first, this just really annoyed him, but when she wouldn't budge, he started to get nervous. That eventually evolved into fear, and now he was fairly certain that she was going to break up with him, over something as _stupid_ as him going out to a stupid strip club for his stupid friend to get over his stupid ex.

Sora had ignored his calls and messages for the majority of the day, though she finally messaged him around four that she would meet him at seven. This had only taken him about a million attempts, and while a part of him was annoyed that it had taken such effort, he found he mostly felt relief that she wasn't going to end things by just never talking to him again.

His co-worker had laughed at him when he had told him what happened. Lying to girlfriends about going to the strip club was apparently Boyfriend 101. Evidently, he was the only one who hadn't gotten the memo. Matt had told Megumi whenever Tai had forced him to go. TK had told Kari when he and Matt had secretly hired one for his stag night, though in retrospect he could remember Kari not being particularly happy about it.

Most of all, however, if he were being completely honest, he had simply thought that Sora would not have cared. She was so laidback, and it wasn't like he had cheated on her. Hell, he spent more time watching Matt than watching girls.

Nevertheless, he had been wrong, and he now had to fix things. His co-worker recommended flowers. He was still on the fence about that. Not only did it seem cliché, but over-the-top.

He glanced at his watch as he threw open his flat door, determining he had about half an hour to kill before he had to go meet Sora.

"I'm home," Tai announced grumpily. His flatmate was on the couch, but he instantly turned to him with a glare so menacing it actually made Tai flinch. As un-seriously as Tai took Matt, he had to admit that he had a pretty intimidating presence. "What's up?"

"'What's up?'" Matt repeated angrily, standing up. "'_What's up_?!'"

Used to his mood swings by now, Tai took one of the unopened beer cans off the coffee table, surprised that Matt hadn't already cleared them. "Yeah, what's up? You didn't come home last night." Tai grinned at him. "Did you find a girl?"

Matt looked ready to kill him, as he always did, but he suddenly composed himself. "You know what? I did."

"Nice," Tai said with a nod, tipping his can to open it. "Congratulations, mate. You've now slept with two whole women." Matt didn't react to the backhanded remark or snide grin. "What's her name?"

"Her name?" Matt repeated. "Claire. Or Charity. Depends what time of the day it is."

Tai looked at him confusedly, not understanding what his friend was saying but not caring enough to ask for an elaboration. "She sounds hot."

Matt lunged at him, shoving his shoulder. "You let me go home with a fucking stripper?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

It took Tai a second to process the information. His lips twitched as realisation struck, and he let out a chortle. "You went home with a stripper?! I didn't even know you could do that." He took a swig of beer, laughing still. "You know, I was pretty mad when you and Davis didn't answer your phones, but if it was because you were getting it on with a stripper, I forgive you. That's awesome."

"If you don't stop laughing, I swear to God I'll kill you." Matt hit him across the back of his head, instantly ridding Tai of his mood.

"You want to try that again?" Tai asked dangerously, pleasantries gone as he wiped spilled beer off his chin.

"Why the _fuck_ didn't you stop me?! Obviously, I wasn't sober enough to make sound choices because I left with a fucking _stripper_!"

"Well, for one thing, I'm not your goddamn mum, and you're a grown ass man. It's not my job to watch over you while you're getting pissed drunk," he snapped. "To be honest, I probably would have stopped you. Too bad I was outside because you and Davis wouldn't answer your damn phones!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Instead of explaining the situation to him calmly, he yelled it. How he had to step out for a call, unintentionally throwing himself out of the club. How he had to walk home because he didn't have money for a cab, taking him five times as long as it should have. How Matt not coming home meant he had no wallet for the day, thus having to embarrassingly ask his assistant for money to buy lunch. He left out the fight with Sora, but he blamed Matt for that too.

Not that Matt would have any of it.

"Oh yeah?! I was three hours late for work today. _Three_ hours!" he shot back. "Not to mention I slept with a fucking stripper!"

"It's not my fault you're crying over some stupid bitch—"

"She's not a bitch."

"_She's a fucking bitch_, Matt!" Tai shouted loudly, feeling himself snap. "She dumped you and dropped off the face of the planet. She doesn't want anything to do with you anymore, so stop trying to convince yourself that she's coming back, get the fuck over her and move on. She doesn't give a shit about you, and you're probably the only one crying over it. There are billions of other girls out there, and I'm betting a grand majority of them are better than your stupid ex-girlfriend!"

Matt stared at him dazedly, at a loss for words. It was then that Tai realised that he had come off too strong.

"Look, Meg was a cool girl, but you can do better. She—"

"You're such a shit friend," Matt hissed, interrupting him. "I don't know why you're trying to tell me anything. You've never even had a real girlfriend!"

"By choice!" Tai reminded him.

"Yeah, even if you decided to get one, she'd probably dump your ass in a month," Matt spat back. "Nobody could handle being with anyone as cold as you."

"_I'm_ the cold one?!" Tai repeated incredulously. "You think _I'm_ the cold one?!"

"Yeah, you are. Here's your wallet back." Matt seized it from the coffee table and threw it at Tai's chest. It fell to the floor. "There's no money in it. I guess I gave it all to Charity, right before I fucked her."

Tai watched as Matt stormed out, a slam indicating he had gone to his room, loud music indicating he didn't want to be disturbed. He sighed as he picked up his wallet, then downed the rest of his beer.

Great.

* * *

He had been in relationships before, even if Matt refused to formally recognise them.

There was Sakura, his high school girlfriend. He had asked her out because he was supposed to. The captains of the various sport teams were supposed to fight for her, so as football captain, he did as was expected of him, courted her and won. They were more of a symbol than an actual couple, but they dated on and off throughout their schooling years, winning various awards along the way that were arbitrarily based on relative popularity in comparison to other pupils. He broke up with her right before he left for uni, when he decided he wanted to see other girls.

Then, right after TK and Kari announced their engagement, his parents had sat him down for one of their talks. His younger sister was settling down; why couldn't he do the same instead of wasting his youth away? After all, he was supposed to set an example for her, not the other way around. Those words got to him, and, in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, he decided he had to meet his future wife immediately. The next day, he asked out Kiko, a girl who worked at his firm. They had already been flirting for a while, and he thought she was cute, sweet and ambitious. She was nearly the direct opposite of what he would say was his "type," and almost instantly, he regretted it. He stuck to it anyway since his mother was so ecstatic, but after a month he found her insufferably whingey and neurotic, even though Matt and Megumi claimed he was being dramatic. Unable to figure out a way to break up with her himself, he gave her the honour after he accidentally cheated on her with their boss during a business trip. Evidently, being drunk out of his mind and not remembering a thing weren't acceptable excuses. His suspicious promotion shortly after the incident didn't help his cause either.

So, whenever people asked him how many girlfriends he had had, he'd say two.

That being said, neither of them had been anything like Matt's relationship with Megumi or Kari's relationship with her husband.

For one thing, he didn't think he ever loved them. He had told Sakura that he had, but it was only because she wouldn't sleep with him otherwise. He had never even thought to say the words to Kiko.

Matt and Megumi had been attached to each other's hips, as were Kari and TK. Tai always found Kiko's constant presence stressful, to the point where he took his first holiday ever just to get away from her.

Matt sulked whenever Megumi was the slightest bit annoyed with him, but whenever Sakura or Kiko had gotten angry with him, he would simply avoid them until they got over it. Sometimes he'd apologise if necessary, but he did it efficiently. He was an I'm-sorry-let's-move-on kind of bloke. Matt liked to draw out elaborate ways to apologise, even after he had been with Megumi for so many years. Flowers, chocolates, dinners, gifts, monologues. That wasn't his style.

Yet, here he was in Sora's doorstep, flowers in hand, reciting the speech he had prepared in his head to himself silently as the chilling thought of her breaking up with him loomed in the pit of his stomach.

While he had broken things off with Sakura, Kiko was the one who had dumped him. It hadn't come as a surprise though. He knew the second he woke up with his boss's legs wrapped around his naked body that the relationship was over. He had told her what had happened once he got back from his business trip, and the most uncomfortable part had been watching her sob.

It was strange to him how he was more nervous to apologise for going to a strip club than he had been to tell his ex that he had cheated on her.

He rang her doorbell, and she answered a few moments later with a scowl, frowning at the flowers in his hand.

He immediately blanked on his speech, even though giving presentations was what he practically did for a living.

"I got you these," he said clumsily, holding them out to her.

She didn't take them. "I can't believe you thought flowers would make things okay." She opened the door further to let him inside at least, so he did.

"Sora, I'm really sorry," he blurted, as if he had a time limit. "I swear I didn't want to go to the stupid strip club. It's just that Matt has been such a mess about his ex-girlfriend, and I thought it'd be good for him because he never goes out, and for once he was the one who wanted to leave the flat. I swear I didn't do anything. All I did was buy Matt a dance, but I just had one drink, and I didn't even finish it. I left right after you hung up on me, I swear."

He flinched when she moved, but she only sighed, taking the bouquet from his hands. "Don't freak out, Tai. I'm not angry anymore. I'm just disappointed."

If only she knew him better, she would know that disappointment was the one thing he did not fare well against. He could handle people being angry with him or hating him, but he couldn't stand disappointment.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not in love with the idea of you going to those kind of places, but I'm more hurt that you didn't tell me about it. It's like you were hiding it."

"I'm sorry," he apologised immediately. "I wasn't trying to hide it. I just thought you wouldn't care. It didn't even cross my mind, Sora."

She crossed her arms. "Well, for future reference, I care."

"Noted." He tried to smile, but she didn't smile back. It was when he quickly changed his expression to match her serious one that she loosened a tiny bit.

She reached up to rub his cheek, sighing. "If you're going to do something like that, the least you could do is not get caught. Isn't lying to girlfriends about that kind of thing Boyfriend 101?"

While fascinated that she had the same message as his co-worker, he was more curious about the other part of her statement.

"You called me your boyfriend."

Her cheeks turned pink, and she tried to hide it by looking down at her flowers. "Well, aren't you?"

This was the usual breaking point where he would break things off with any girl he was dating. Once they labelled him a boyfriend, it meant they wanted something more serious than he wanted, and it signalled an emergency stop for him.

"I guess I am," he agreed.

"Well, aren't you romantic," she muttered, nudging the side of his head with her fist. She looked down at her flowers again, and when she looked back up, he saw a trace of regret in her expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry I overreacted," she said quietly.

"You didn't overreact," he countered, though inside he thought she had.

"It's just," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him. "My best friend got played by this guy a while ago, and my other friend just got cheated on, and I guess I'm just paranoid that all men cheat."

"I'm not like that," he said without thinking.

It was a flat out lie, and he felt bad for saying it, but it wasn't like he could take it back now.

"I'm glad to hear it." She looked comforted, smiling with relief. "I think cheaters are the worst kind of people, don't you?"

"…Yeah…"

She reached up to kiss him, putting her arms around his neck. His guilt for lying quickly forgotten, he tried to intensify the kiss, but she pulled away.

"Can you do me a favour?"

He nodded quickly and tried to lean down to her again, but she moved back, not allowing it.

"I want you to let me know when you're going out."

He hated this part of relationships. Matt used to do it, as did the rest of his friends who were in relationships. He too had to do it with his exes, but it didn't mean he didn't hate it. Sometimes, he forgot, and that should have been fine. He never cared the other way around.

"Okay," he agreed, lowering his head to her again. She allowed him a peck before she pulled away again, disappearing into her kitchen, silently making him follow.

She was pulling a vase from a cupboard, presumably for the flowers he had gotten her.

"So you went to that place because of Matt," she said, unwrapping the plastic around her bouquet after she had filled the vase with water. "How is he doing?"

As she started to trim stems to put into the vase, he told her what had happened, though he censored the end of Matt's night with just "a girl" instead of a stripper.

"It's sad that you two are fighting."

Tai brushed her statement off. "He'll get over it after a good night's rest. He's been crabby lately."

She frowned. "As his friend, you should be there for him."

"He's had a month to get over his ex," Tai argued. "It's annoying to go home to him brooding everyday. He's acting like some angsty teenager."

She didn't respond to him immediately, growing silent. He let her finish trimming the stems and arranging the bouquet, and it was only after she had thrown the plastic away that she spoke again.

"Have you ever been dumped?"

He shrugged. "Once."

"Then you remember how horrible the feeling is, don't you?" She walked over to him and brushed his fringe from his face. "It takes a while to get over."

As he was deciding it would be best if he didn't tell her the real reason he got dumped, it hit him from the serious look on her face that she spoke from experience. He tried not to dwell on it, as he really didn't want to think of his girlfriend with another man. In theory, it made perfect sense. She was not the first girl he had been with, and it would have been naïve for him to think he was the first man of hers.

Still, it wasn't something he necessarily wanted to think about.

He leaned down to kiss her, and she toyed with him a little bit until his hand slipped where she didn't want it. He held in the urge to groan as she pushed him away.

"You should go be there for your friend."

"I hate Matt," he whinged.

She ignored his tone. "Thank you for the flowers."

"Do you like them?" he asked. She had told him once that her mother was a florist. She said she used to hate flowers, though she liked them now.

"I like sunflowers," she joked, walking him to the door.

"I'll remember that for next time." He turned and gave her a hopeful expression. "You sure you don't want me to stick around a little bit longer?"

She leaned up to peck his lips. "Good night, Tai."

He gave a dramatic sigh, which earned him a playful slap to the arm.

"Good night."

* * *

Matt knew he had blown up on his friend unfairly. Tai was right. He was old enough to make his own decisions without a chaperone, and it certainly wasn't Tai's obligation to take care of him every time he got carried away with the alcohol.

It was just that…

It sounded so cliché, but only having slept with Megumi was something he had really liked about them. Some of his friends, Tai especially, liked to make fun of him for it, but he didn't care. It made him feel like he was truly Megumi's, and she was truly his.

But now what could he say?

_I've slept with my ex-girlfriend of thirteen years—oh, and a stripper when I was blackout drunk._

It was no longer special. It no longer had meaning.

He hated that no matter where he turned, the world had to remind him that what he had had with her was not what he had always thought it was. They weren't made for each other. They weren't anything special. Ultimately, they were nothing. They were no different from any other couple that dated for a long time only to have it not work out.

He knew that every couple thought the same thing, but he had truly believed the two of them were. What an illusion he had set up for himself. He was supposed to be the sensible one. How could he have fooled himself for so many years?

He heard the front door opening. Tai.

Tai had been acting strange too. He stayed at work late during the weekdays and actually came home during weekends. The former wasn't too strange as Tai often had periods when his workload would increase to the point where it consumed him. The latter, however, was unlike him. If there was one thing Matt could count on, it would be that he'd have Friday and Saturday nights to himself. In the past few weeks, however, Tai came home from partying early, always citing fatigue from work. This came from the same man who had been rushed to the hospital in the early hours following Matt's 20th birthday due to alcohol poisoning, then miraculously making it to his Business Law class a few hours later to take his exam. Matt still hated him a little bit for passing it, because it was the kind of unfair thing only Tai Kamiya could pull off.

He heard a knock on his door, which was unnecessary because Tai opened it without waiting for a response.

"Hey."

"Hey."

A pause.

"…I'm sorry I didn't stop you last night."

Tai wasn't very good at making Matt feel bad for him, but this did. Tai rarely apologised for anything, and this was probably one of those instances when he himself owed the first apology.

"Me too," he said instead.

Through it all, he was never good at this sort of thing.

"All right then," Tai concluded with a nod. "Have a good night."

He and Tai were very different. Tai probably actually didn't care that he was apologising first, or even that he didn't really have a need to apologise anyway. He would just forget everything the second he stepped out of the room, and he would never think back at it.

Matt wasn't like that. He felt too guilty, and it would probably be something he would continue to think about if he didn't do something about it now.

"Hey."

Tai stopped, allowing him the chance to speak.

"I shouldn't have freaked out on you like that," he said.

Tai shrugged. "Probably not. It's all right though. I'm used to your mood swings by now."

Matt let the comment pass, choosing to end the current conversation by bringing up another. "You've been working late a lot recently."

Tai was, despite his character and his denial, a bit of a workaholic. When Matt first met him, he thought he was the laziest human ever, but Tai actually did take his work quite seriously.

He shrugged again. "Not really. Sometimes I work late, sometimes I go to the gym."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You go to the gym? Why are you going there all of the sudden?"

"Because I don't want to look like you."

"Go to hell, Tai."

He grinned at his own joke, then turned a little more serious. "Look, I know you think I don't understand, and I probably don't, but just so you know, there's more to life than her. Whatever you're beating yourself up over, she's probably not worth it, and if she were, she'd be here."

He didn't argue with Tai, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere.

"And you know what? If anything, I bet she wouldn't like to know you're living like this either."

Even if he wanted to respond, Tai didn't let him, leaving after saying it.

"_You aren't ever allowed to break my heart or turn me into that state…"_

Her image flashed in his mind as it always did. Since that horrible day, he would imagine her from their happiest times to that heart-wrenching last, but until now, he hadn't envisioned her disappointed.

He wondered how he would feel if he were to find out she were in the same state as him. A part of thought it would feel good, as he wanted her to miss him, but he knew that overall it would bring him no satisfaction.

"_What would you do if we broke up?"_

Through it all, he didn't want her to be miserable, and even though she had thrown him away, he liked to believe that she wanted the same from him.

His consciousness slipped for a second, and she was standing in front of him again, frowning, upset at what he had become.

It was a waste of life, and even if he were allowing it for himself, he didn't want the same for her.

Tai was wrong. She was worth everything, but more than that, she was worth having a man who didn't crumble so easily.

"_I'd be sad, but I wouldn't tell the world and inconvenience everyone's lives."_

He missed her—_God_, he missed her—but this was getting out of hand.

He had to stop.

He felt a rush of motivation that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"_Don't you need me?"_

She used to tell him that she admired him for his composure. She would say it was one of her favourite things about him, as he embodied it in every aspect of his life, from the music he played to the way he carried himself on a day-to-day basis.

He was beginning to wonder if he even possessed such a thing. He surely hadn't exuded that in the past month.

This was it. This was the end. He was finished feeling sorry for himself. He would allow himself to be sad over the breakup, and he would allow himself to miss her, but he wouldn't let it consume him anymore.

If Megumi were to ever come back, for whatever reason, he wouldn't allow her to see this pitiful side of him. At the very least, that was what he could still do for her.

* * *

She had opened his window to let the gentle spring breeze into his room. Their first semester at uni had just started, making it one of the first big adjustments he had had in a very long time. He wasn't really fond of change, but it wasn't too bad. She helped by being there.

She was sitting on his tiny dorm bed, his blanket wrapped around her legs, holding onto his pillow as she complained to him. She had come in her usual post-class form, glasses replacing contact lenses, makeup washed off, her long, dark hair pulled up into a bun on top of her head. He called it her muffin hair, and she only ever wore it like that when she didn't care about her appearance. She wore an oversized vest and one of his boxer shorts that she had taken from him a long time ago.

Because she always made an effort when she was out, her friends thought she was always put together. He knew the real her. Megumi had an uncanny ability to transform herself within a matter of seconds. He bet he had once been shocked by this, but he couldn't remember anymore.

He turned his head from his computer screen, taking a break from his essay to listen to his girlfriend whinge.

Her roommate's boyfriend had just broken up with her roommate, making it annoying for Megumi to live there anymore.

"You can always stay with me," he offered, even though he wasn't sure if his own roommate would be okay with it. He lived with his brother's girlfriend's insufferable brother, who he was convinced was the worst human being who had ever existed on this planet. Thank the lord he had left for the afternoon.

"No, I'm just complaining," Megumi said with a sigh, burying her face into his pillow. "It's just stupid that she _needs_ to always have a man. She's so dependent. It's sad."

He almost didn't want to say what he was thinking, knowing it sounded childish, but he asked anyway.

"Don't you need me?"

"We don't count," she dismissed immediately. "It's just her. She falls in love with every person who shows interest in her and thinks that every man is the one, when statistically speaking, most relationships are destined to fail."

"We won't."

"Of course we won't. I told you. We don't count."

He stood up from his seat to sit next to her instead. "Think about it this way. If you and I were to ever break up, wouldn't you be sad too? Even if she's annoying you, you should endure it."

"I'd be sad, but I wouldn't tell the world and inconvenience everyone's lives," she huffed, lifting his sheets so he could be covered as well. "Then again, maybe it's because I've never experienced something like that that it's annoying me so much. I'll get over it soon. I'm just complaining." She lifted a hand to his cheek, rubbing it a little. "What would you do if we broke up?"

"I'd probably get over you in a day."

He had said it in a deadpan voice, which to some would sound like he was being serious, but she knew better.

Nevertheless, she pushed him anyway, frowning. "I should break up with you for even saying that."

"It's a stupid question anyway," he muttered, scooting closer to her again. "You and I aren't ever breaking up."

Her face twitched slightly, and he could tell that she was trying not to look so pleased by his words. She liked to do that often. He often couldn't tell when she was pleased or sad. He liked to say he could only tell when she was angry.

She rested her head against her knees, looking at him sideways. "We've been together for so long that I keep thinking you'll get tired of me at any moment."

"I've never felt that," he said immediately.

"Good." She sat up straight again. "You aren't ever allowed to break my heart or turn me into that state my roommate is now." She leaned forward to kiss him, staring at him intently as she pulled away. "Maybe you can forget about me in a day, but I don't think I could ever get over you, Yamato."

* * *

23 June 2013

The above date is for my own reference and has no significance to the story. I just want to keep track of when I upload chapters.

Thank you for your reviews, and apologies for the latter half of this chapter. I'm afraid I couldn't be bothered to proofread it as much as I wanted.


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